


Step Into the Sun

by Scouts_Rocketship



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fluff and Angst, Healing, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Multi, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:20:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 96,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23243923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scouts_Rocketship/pseuds/Scouts_Rocketship
Summary: When Mark falls into his rut abruptly at the smell of the ocean and sunflowers, it quickly became news throughout the whole school that Mark Lee has found his soulmate. It was exactly his luck that the scent came from an "abandoned" gym shirt in the locker room. No one knew who the mystery person was.Donghyuck, after all that he's been through, wants to keep it that way. Unfortunately for him, fate has other plans
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee, Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Park Jisung/Zhong Chen Le
Comments: 350
Kudos: 1952





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cataclysmicwriter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cataclysmicwriter/gifts).



> Hello!! This is different from what I usually do, so I hope you guys enjoy it. 
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter contains themes of physical and sexual abuse do please do keep that in mind if you decide to read it. 
> 
> ALSO, the people other than the members of EXO and NCT are all fictional. I literally searched up Korean names and I picked the names I believed to be suitable.
> 
> Enough about the notes, let's get into the story!!

“They’re nearing the main room! Get ready!” 

Donghyuck looks up from his hiding position and watches in terror as the remaining alphas and betas of their pack grip their weapons and carefully maneuver themselves near the door. A hand grips tightly unto his arm, bringing his attention back to the situation. He was faced with one of his fellow omegas.

“N-Noona,” Donghyuck whimpers in fear. Their pack didn’t have the best reputation among the others, but it had never occurred to him that the hatred ran deeper than some petty arguments. 

“It’s okay, Hyuckie. We’ll be fine. The alphas and betas of our pack are strong.”

For a moment, Donghyuck’s eyes darkened. Of course, they were strong. They made sure to exercise their power over the omegas as much as possible. At the sudden reminder of their pack dynamics, Donghyuck almost wished that whoever the intruders were, they would win. 

_ Kill every one of them _ .

“Hyuck, not now. Some of the others are wounded. Come and help,” Jihyun said, knowing full well the way Donghyuck’s train of thought wandered.

“O-Of course. Sorry, where are they?” 

“We’re hiding near the right wing of the main room. Let’s hurry before the fight gets here.”

Donghyuck nodded and quickly they stalked their way towards the entrance of the right wing. Gunshots and shouts reverberated throughout the mansion, but the two paid no mind.

As soon as they opened the door, Donghyuck was met with an onslaught of distressed scents. There were only three omegas in the room.

_ Five out of eleven omegas alive _ . The thought came to him, but quickly he tried to shake it off. 

“H-Haechan Hyung! You’re okay!” a small figure ran up to him.

Donghyuck smiled softly and bent down to gather the child up in his arms as Jihyun moved towards the two injured girls. 

“Of course I am, Minjun. You can’t get rid of me that easily.” 

Minjun was the only other boy omega in their pack. Naturally, Donghyuck had been protective over the younger and made sure to do his best to keep a smile on his face. This earned him the nickname Haechan, or Fullsun as Minjun liked to call him.

In response, the boy wrapped his tiny arms around Donghyuck’s neck and buried his cries at the juncture of the elder’s neck. Not knowing what else to say, Donghyuck rubbed comforting circles on the younger’s back.

“Is there anything I can do?” he asked Jihyun once he felt Minjun relax in his hold. Jihyun spares him a glance before turning her attention back to the girl’s, Jaehwa’s, leg. The gunshot seemed to have been buried in her shin.  _ Not a pretty sight at all. _

“Go to Miyoung. She’s bleeding out a lot and there’s not much we can do.”

_ Be there for her as she dies _ , Donghyuck hears. He nods solemnly and carefully walks over the slumped figure.

“Hey, Miyoung,” he greets softly. The girl in question blinks blearily, trying her best to remain conscious. He doesn’t know how long she was bleeding out but based on the blood-soaked cloth around a reopened gash, it had been a while. 

“Hyuckie,” was all she could manage to whisper. Instinctively, Donghyuck reached out a hand towards her alarmingly cold one, earning a small smile from the lady.

Miyoung had always been beautiful. Even at a young age, she was one of the most sought out omega within their pack. It was a miracle that she remained untouched until the age of thirteen (courtesy of Jihyun’s protective nature). 

Even at the young age of seven, Donghyuck was already aware of the dynamics within the pack. So when Miyoung came back to their rooms that day, no tears were shed. Questions about the bruises that littered her body remained unasked. There was only silence, medicine and comfort. 

So when Donghyuck turned fourteen and had been beckoned to the alpha room, he came back to the same setting. Even after three years, at the age of seventeen, the sight of silence, medicine and comfort were basically routine.

“You’ve grown into such a fine lad,” she whispered, gathering enough strength in her hand to rub a thumb over Donghyuck’s warm skin.

“It’s all thanks to all of you,” Donghyuck softly says, the action causing Minjun to hesitantly look towards the dying figure. 

“And you’re going to grow into a fine land, Junnie,” Miyoung adds, her eyes tracing along the face of bruised youth. 

“Noona,” Minjun cries quietly. “Please don’t go.”

Miyoung lets out a huff of air in amusement. “I don’t want to either.”

“It’s okay, Jun-ah. Miyoung noona will be fine,” Donghyuck reassures, using the hand carrying Minjun to pat his but slightly.

“Hyuck’s right. I’ll be fine,” Miyoung affirms, but it did nothing to alleviate the tears that spilled over Minjun’s attempts to keep it at bay.

Miyoung’s breath started to get alarmingly slower. Desperately, Donghyuck held unto her hand tighter.

“You’ll be fine,” Miyoung said, the last of her breath leaving her. With a deep sigh, Donghyuck whispered a prayer of blessing and tenderly laid down Miyoung’s body on the floor. Minjun seemed to understand what had happened because before Donghyuck knew it, tiny sobs racked his body. 

“I-I’ll miss her,” Minjun hiccuped. 

“Me too,” Donghyuck agreed. The pain of losing another fellow omega was never easy, but within their pack, it was expected. No omega in their pack has lived past thirty. In fact, Jihyun was nearing that expiration date, peaking at the age of 29.

“Come on, Junnie. Let’s go over to Jihyun noona. She might need help with Jaehwa noona.”

Minjun nods, clutching tighter unto Donghyuck’s shirt. By the time they got over, Jihyun had already managed to heal Jaehwa enough for the latter to stand up. 

“Are you guys okay?” Jihyun asks, upon seeing the tear tracks on Minjun’s face.

“Miyoung noona,” Donghyuck trails off, hoping that it was enough to answer.

Both Jaehwa and Jihyun glanced behind them for a second. A hardened look of understanding passed them.

“She’s in a better place,” Jaehwa says, offering them a reassuring smile.

“How about you, noona? Are you feeling better?” Donghyuck asks in lieu of a response. Dwelling on the deaths of their friends was never a good idea.

“Yep,” Jaehwa answers, popping the “p”. “Jihyun eonnie has healing hands.”

“I’m gla-” Donghyuck starts, but is interrupted by a loud bang from the main room.

With widened eyes, the omegas stared at each other in panic. Jihyun, as always, took the initiative and motioned for them to remain quiet. 

“Keep your scents as low as possible,” Jihyun whispers, the others nodding along in agreement.

Scent hiding was a trick that the omegas of their pack developed and mastered. It was their only defense mechanism against the aggressive nature of the alphas. Minjun though, being young and inexperienced, still struggled to keep his scent masked. Donghyuck took it upon himself to bring Minjun closer to his body and hide their scents as much as he could.

“You think you can strike a deal with us and cheat? What do you take us for?” a gruff shout pierced the air, followed by mocking laughter.

“A bunch of fucking idiots!” the sound of their head alpha scream in retaliation, and then  _ smack _ . Howls of glee flooded the room as the repeated sounds of anguished screams continued.

Donghyuck could smell Minjun’s fear skyrocket. Quickly, Donghyuck started whispering reassurances. 

“It’s okay, baby. Don’t listen. Focus on my scent. Remember how you would crawl up my bed because you loved the smell of the ocean?”

Minjun nods. “Y-Yeah. I-I always wanted to go to the beach and feel the ocean.”

Their hushed conversation continued as the sounds of the other alphas from their pack shouted in pain. It went on for a while until suddenly there was nothing. There was just silence. They all held their breath in anticipation.

“Are you sure that’s all of them?” someone asked. Based on the authority in their voice, it sounded like the leader of the pack.

“I believe so. We didn’t see or smell anyone else,” someone answered.

_ Okay, good. This is good. We can actually get out. Let’s just hope that none of them have a sensitive nose and- _

“Wait.”  _ Crap _ .

“I think I smell something.”

“You sure about that, Chanyeol-ah?”

“In the right wing. It’s very faint, but it smells like an omega.”

He and Jihyun caught each other’s gazes. A silent agreement passed them. Carefully, they unentangled themselves from Minjun and Jaehwa respectively. A look of confusion painted their faces, but at the sight of Donghyuck and Jihyun standing protectively in front of them as the sound of footsteps got closer, they understood.

Minjun was about to get up and yell at them in protest, but Jaehwa’s grip stopped him. Minjun looked at her in frustration and anger but was met with nothing but resignation and plea. Unwillingly, he backed down.

Donghyuck took a deep breath and tried to ready himself. He wasn’t trained to be a fighter, but he has something to fight for. He’d give his all just for them - even if it means he’d give up his life. From the look of Jihyun’s stance, Donghyuck’s sure she feels the same.

The door opened, and they were met with a group of men. A quick whiff tells him that most of them are betas, some alphas, and very few omegas. There were only nine of them, though. Donghyuck and Jihyun could easily pull some tricks to take them all down.

_ But if they managed to take down their whole pack with just nine people. How do you think they’ll do with two measly omegas? _

“Hm, guess you underestimated, Yeol”

A man, presumably this Yeol guy, huffs. “I could only pick up one smell! How was I supposed to know there were more?”

Donghyuck noticed some of the other wolves sniff the air. By the look of confusion in their faces, it seems that their scents were still masked. Donghyuck couldn’t help but feel a swell of pride rise in his chest at their capabilities despite the precarious situation they are in.

“Minjun-ah. Take Jaehwa and get out of here,” Jihyun calls out, effectively bringing everyone back to the situation. One of them - the leader? - looks at them softly.

“B-But what about you guys?”

“We’ll be fine, Junnie. We’ll do our best to fend them off for you guys,” Donghyuck answers, eyeing one of the guys that seemed to move closer.

“H-Hyung,” Minjun whimpers. Donghyuck didn’t have to look behind to know that tears have once again fallen on the younger’s cheeks. 

“Minjun! Go!” Jihyun shouts, her authoritative tone catching everyone’s attention. He sees the presumed leader whisper with another man, their eyes flitting between them and Minjun.

“I don’t want to lose anymore!” Minjun screams, the sound of rebellion causing both Jihyun and Donghyuck to whip their heads and stare at him.

“I don’t want more omegas to die! We’re always the ones hurting. Always the one dying, and I'm tired of it! So I’m sorry hyung and noona. If you’re going to die, then I’m going to die too.”

“Minjun,” Donghyuck trails off, too shocked to form any proper sentence.

The sound of a footstep snapped Donghyuck out of his reverie. In defense, his eyes turned yellow and a growl erupted from his chest. 

“Stop right there,” he snarled. The leader faltered in his steps. 

“You’re part of the Lee pack?”

Cautiously, Jihyun nodded. 

“Unfortunately,” Minjun muttered out loud, causing some of the strangers to smile in amusement.

“Whatever the Lee pack did, we had no part in it,” Donghyuck answers, keeping eye contact with the leader.

“How can we be sure of that? For all we know, you’re just lying.”

“You were partners with them before they cheated on you, right? Didn’t you receive the invitation?” Jihyun asks. Donghyuck involuntarily shivers.

The invitation. Their leader would annually invite other pack leaders for a week of “omega entertainment”. It was the most dreaded event within their group. The rest of the year was spent trying to heal and move on from the event. Thankfully, no other pack seemed to hold the same ideals as their own, so no one ever really attended.

It was just their pack. And that was what hurt the most.

“Yes.”

Another man with sharp features spoke up, “But I heard that no other pack agreed to the invitation. Wouldn’t it have been canceled?”

Donghyuck couldn’t help but laugh sardonically. The others stared at him incredulously while the rest of the omegas remained impassive.

“Sorry, sorry, I couldn’t help myself,” he explained, managing his breaths and calming down.

“One thing about the Lee pack - if they get the chance, they will take it.”

His sentence seemed to shift something among them. The strangers suddenly seemed to notice the actual people in front of them. All at once, their thin frames and the remnants of bruises that littered the omegas seemed to be glaringly obvious. What caught the attention of the leader, however, was the fire in their eyes.

“I believe you,” a small, soft-looking boy said.

“We all believe you,” the leader reiterates, staring intensely at the guarded expressions on their faces.

“And? What are we supposed to do with that?” Jihyun challenges, her ice-cold tone cutting deeply throughout the whole room.

“We’ll let you go. But I do think that the debts of the Lee Pack will still haunt you,” the leader continues, a teasing lilt leaking into his statement.

“What are you suggesting?” Donghyuck with an eyebrow raised. He can tell where the conversation is going, but he refused to believe it. 

“Join our pack.”

Logically, Donghyuck knew that there was no other option, but it still took him by surprise. He looked over to Jihyun and they shared a look. After nodding in in agreement, they turned back to Jaehwa and Minjun.

“Alright. We’ll join your pack,” Jihyun answers once they’ve gathered everyone’s answers.

The leader smiles. “Good choice. Now let me introduce myself. My name is Kim Joonmyun - Suho for business ventures - and I am the leader of the pack, Exo.”

After their introductions, they slowly made their way out of the mansion. Bodies of their fellow pack members littered the floor. Each body they encountered, especially an omega, caused Minjun to hold unto Donghyuck’s hand tighter. 

The sun had started to rise once they got out. At the sight of the open sky, it all came crashing down on Donghyuck. They were free. They were no longer caged within the claws of the Lee pack. They actually had a shot to live a normal life.

Filled with overwhelming hope, Donghyuck’s eyes met the faces of his fellow omegas. Minjun was sporting a wide grin as he enthusiastically clutched the end of Donghyuck’s shirt. Jaehwa ‘s face was painted with an excited expression despite leaning heavily unto Jihyun for support. Heck, even Jihyun, one of the most imperturbable people he knew, had a small smile.

“Wait-” Chanyeol shouts, before a bullet comes flying, hitting Jaehwa straight in the head. Immediately, Donghyuck ducks to a nearby bush, dragging Minjun along with him.

“A stray beta up on the tree!” Chanyeol calls out, unsheathing his own gun, aiming toward the direction of the scent.

“Noona!” Donghyuck screams, snapping Jihyun out of her shocked stupor. Jaehwa’s body crumpled on the grass beside her.

And then suddenly, everything else seemed to happen in slow motion. 

Jihyun looked up at him, devastation clouding her features. The hope that they had was quickly stripped away in a flash. He watched as Jihyun moved towards them, and was impeded by a shot to the chest.

Another shout rips his chest. It was a beat too late for Donghyuck to realize that Minjun had slipped out of his grasp and ran towards Jihyun’s falling body. To his horror, Minjun took a bullet to the neck and collapsed down the grass. Mindlessly, Donghyuck ran towards his friends and knelt beside them. The possible danger of having another bullet lose and hit him was the least of his worries.

His friends, no his family. All gone in a matter of seconds. 

Donghyuck was too filled with grief for him to process the hand on his shoulder. The scent of an alpha attacking his senses in the worst possible way.

“I’m sorry. We didn’t know there was one left,” he hears Suho say. The atmosphere around them shifted. Bitter smells mingled with each other, causing a cacophony of hatred, but no scent was as powerful as the smell of unrelenting seawater and decay.

“D-Did you kill him?” Donghyuck asked, his voice hoarse from crying.

“Kinda. Sehun managed to shoot him in the stomach, but don’t worry he’s going to die soon.”

“Can I kill him?” Donghyuck requests, looking up at Suho, the fire that Suho noticed during their first meeting was now amplified. The sight of unadulterated grief intermingled with the need for revenge shook the leader to the core. He had never seen an omega so young sport that kind of a look before. Mechanically, he nods and handed over a small pistol.

Donghyuck took it without hesitation and stalked over to the sound of gasping breaths. None of the Exo members made a move to stop him.

“Oh look, it’s little Donghyuck-ie,” the beta, Donghyuck barely registers as Malchin, greets with a jeer upon seeing the younger.

“You can’t even betray our pack properly can you? A fucking useless omega like you don’t-”

Before the beta could finish his sentence, Donghyuck shot him straight to the head. To alleviate the bitter resentment in his chest, he fired a couple more shots on the lifeless body before he turned around and walked back.

It was official. He was the last member of the cursed Lee pack. 

After initiating a proper burial for his family, and the other omegas they could find, Donghyuck silently chanted one last prayer of peace before leaving the place for good. The following day, news about the massacre of the Lee pack were plastered everywhere yet no legal action was taken. The pack was notoriously bad so it didn’t come off as a surprise to anyone when the police announced their investigation closed after simply a week.

He was going to start a new life. He was going to be someone different. He wouldn’t let his past define him, but at the same time, he didn’t want to let it go just yet. 

So when Suho approached him and asked for what name he was going to use, Donghyuck decided to keep something from the past - a reminder of where he came from and the people he loved. 

“Call me Lee Haechan.”


	2. Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the incident.

  
  


It’s been a little over a year since the incident happened.

The leader, Suho, had invited him to join their pack. It seemed that his scent masking skills would be incredibly useful to them for espionage work, but Donghyuck politely refused. To him, joining another pack still felt too much of a betrayal to his family. 

“Maybe someday, if the offer still stands,” Donghyuck had said apologetically.

Thankfully the leader understood and let him be. Still, Suho insisted on giving him a lending hand. “A lending hand” for Suho apparently meant legal documents, a scholarship, a condo unit and enough money to last him a few years.

It surprised Donghyuck when he had found out. He had no idea how rich the Exo pack was, but he didn’t dare ask. Based on their first meeting, Donghyuck had concluded that in this situation, ignorance is bliss. It didn’t mean that he willingly accepted the offer, however. He may have been intimidated, but the fire in his gut pushed him to negotiate.

Donghyuck managed to convince Suho that no he didn’t need a 700 sqm condo unit that overlooked the city and that yes, he needed to do something for them in return for all that they have done. In the end, they settled for a 100 sqm condo and a research job for Donghyuck.

Arranging his documents took a little bit longer than they had anticipated. Instead of being cooped up in Suho’s office, he was sent to temporarily live in the Exo manor. In the short amount of time he spent there, he had slowly begun understanding how normal packs worked. Chanyeol and Baekhyun specifically made the whole adjusting period easier. Their bright and loud personalities urging him to open up more.

He even surprised the members when he told them he was going to take Political Science in college, fully intending to continue on to law school. He was going to be a lawyer that would fight for omegas and their rights.

“You do know that that course is no joke right?” Chen asked, worry lacing his features.

“Yeah, no offense Donghyuck but you have never even been to school,” Sehun bluntly states, earning a smack from Minseok.

Donghyuck laughed. Though legally he was now Haechan, he had asked the Exo members to continue calling him Donghyuck in the confines of their rooms - wished for it even. It may be nice to have a new identity but for so long, he only had his name as a reminder of who he was. It helped that they were the only ones left alive that knew his real name.

“I understand your concern hyung, but when you’re basically locked in a mansion, you’ll find that you do a lot of reading,” he explained.

“Reading? How do you even know how to read?” Baekhyun asked incredulously, before yelling in offense as Kyungsoo kicked him in the shin.

“Jihyun noona taught me how to read and write,” Donghyuck explained, his tone softening at the mention of his friend. “She taught all of us. Except for Minjun.”

Proudly, Donghyuck huffs, “I taught Minjun everything I knew. From literature to mathematics!”

They were staring at him with a mix of sympathy and fondness, the same look they always had when he talked about his band of omegas. 

“Frankly, the alphas and betas didn’t care much for studying so it was easy to steal their textbooks. It was insanely hard to figure out some of the topics, but it was fun. It was a good way to pass the time,” Donghyuck rambled on, unsure of how to respond to the attention directed at him.

“Oh my god, you’re a fucking nerd,” Chanyeol steps in, effectively dissolving the tension that had settled within them. The room erupted in laughter.

“I can’t believe me and Baek are raising an actual nerd. We failed as parents!” Chanyeol continues lamenting, earning retorts from the others, most prominently Kai. (“Of course he’s a nerd! You and Baek are raising him!”)

Though Donghyuck wasn’t part of their pack, they never made him feel like an outsider. It was terrifying how quickly he felt safe around them, but then again, he may have been biased. They basically saved him from the clutches of the Lee pack. 

So when it came time for him to leave the manor, he had left in the wee hours of the morning. He doesn’t know if he could handle saying goodbye to them face to face. He was never fond of goodbyes.

Just as he was supposed to open the main door, the scent of apples and earth neared him.

“Hyung,” Donghyuck greets, turning to face the leader.

“Here. Take this before you leave,” Suho said, handing out a black choker with a small pendant in the middle. Timidly, Donghyuck accepted.

“It’s one of our newest technological advancements. It masks the scent of the owner and their sub gender, allowing you to choose a different scent,” Suho explained as Donghyuck continued to stare at the accessory.

_ It can make you smell like an alpha. _

“Try it on.” 

Involuntarily, Donghyuck complied. 

“Press the pendant. It’s voice-activated so it only listens to you.”

His hand flew to the pendant and almost immediately a mechanical voice resounded the empty hall.

“Please select a scent.”

Donghyuck thought of the scents that put him at ease and remembered the omega room back at the mansion. Usually, after a “meeting” with the alphas, he and Minjun would always cuddle in his bed as the wounds on his body reacted towards the ointment. Though the reason for it was tainted, it was a smell that he held very dear to him.

“Antibiotics and chocolate.”

After a few seconds, the voice continued, “Process complete. Please select a sub gender.”

Without hesitation, he answered, “Alpha.”

A beat passed and then, “Process complete. If you wish to change the scent, you may press the pendant again. Thank you.”

It was silent for a moment. Donghyuck had a hard time believing that a simple accessory would change an entire scent of a person, but judging from the expression on Suho’s face, it might have worked.

“Ugh, you smell like an alpha now,” Suho complains. “I really adore your natural scent.”

_ It worked. It actually worked. I...I can walk alone now.  _

Upon seeing the flash of emotion in the younger’s eyes, Suho took the initiative and wrapped Donghyuck in a hug. Words of thanks and gratefulness spilled from Donghyuck’s mouth, encouraging the leader to hug him tighter.

“You’ll be fine, Hyuckie. You have us now.”

When Donghyuck finally calmed down, he pulled away. “Seriously, thank you. I don’t know how I can ever repay you. Heck, I don’t even know why you’re helping me so much.”

Suho hesitated for a moment before answering, “I had this...friend.”

“He was in a similar situation as you before. But I was too young and too powerless to be able to do anything to help him. By the time Exo became influential, it was too late. My friend ran away and fled out of Korea.”

“So you’re trying to make it up to me instead?” Donghyuck asked, staring at the nostalgic look in Suho’s eyes.

The look in Suho’s face shifted to one of affection as he took in the boy in front of him.

“You can say that,” Suho pauses, offering Donghyuck a sweet smile. “But after getting to know you, I’m confident to say that it’s for you.”

“You’re a sweet kid, Hyuck.”

Donghyuck, for the first time in a while, genuinely smiles at him. Suho could do nothing but stand speechless at the sight. He really was full sun.

“I’m gonna miss you, hyung,” Donghyuck whispers.

“I’m gonna miss you too, kid. Message me from time to time alright?” 

Donghyuck nods and spares Suho one last hug before leaving. 

_ Look out world, here I come. _

-

Honestly, Donghyuck didn’t know what to expect when he stepped outside into the real world. Back in his pack, omegas weren’t allowed to leave the property, and despite Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s efforts in educating him about it, it was different from anything he could’ve imagined.

Seoul was incredibly fast-paced. People in suits and uniforms rushed to their own destinations with furrowed brows and harsh whispers. At the other end of the spectrum, however, there were people who roamed the streets with bright smiles and blushing faces, seemingly having no care in the world and just basking at the thought of being alive.

It was such a sudden whiplash from what he was used to, and yet, something about it felt eerily normal.

The world and the people living in it continue on, no matter what happens. As if there weren’t people hidden within the city crying for help. As if there weren’t twisted alphas out there abusing their power to keep whatever poor omega they have trapped.

Even then, when news got out about the incident, all they talked about were the alphas and the horrible things they have done. But how about them? How about the omegas that had to die so cruelly after a lifetime of misery and sorrow? Did people talk about them and do anything? 

No. The world didn’t care about the sufferings of the weak.

Bitterness prickled his chest and clouded his judgment. It wasn’t fair. None of it was. 

When his thoughts would get too much, he’d remember Jihyun and what she used to say. “The world isn’t fair, so we try to make do.”

“For who?”, he would ask time and time again.

“For the people we love,” she would say with a smile.

It was silly, really, but he clung to it.

For the people he loved, he will continue with the world and do something about it. He was going to do his best to keep their memory alive.

He was going to live for them.

-

It’s only been a week or so of his first year of college, but already he had made an incredibly dumb decision.

You see, Haechan signed up for a 7-8 am physical education class because, for some reason, he thought that it would make him feel better throughout the whole day.  _ Something about serotonin and some shit. _

Unfortunately, circuit training was a lot harder than he thought. 

By the time the class ended, Haechan was doing his best to stop himself from bending over and gasping for air. The other alphas in his class didn’t even seem as winded as he felt and he had to keep up an image, goddamnit.  _ Curse alphas and their natural physical advantage. _

Earlier on, Haechan had discovered that despite his scent coming out as an alpha, the clothes that he wore would still reek of his natural scent. Therefore, showering inside the locker rooms with a bunch of other kids, was a strict no for him. Sadly, his legs lacked the strength to carry him back to his condo, take a shower and walk back to school before his next class at 10.

After a few sessions, Haechan managed to make an unspoken agreement with his fellow peers. Once class ended, Haechan would walk off to the most vacant locker room - it was a small space mainly used by the dance troupe- and wait outside for thirty minutes until two guys emerged. 

Was it overdramatic and unnecessary? Yes. Did he care? No. He wasn’t going to be sweaty the whole day, thank you very much.

Haechan sighed in relief as cool droplets of water met his heated body.  _ This must be what heaven feels like.  _

Just as he was about to wipe himself dry, the sound of the door opening echoed throughout the empty locker room. It seems to be two alphas and one beta, but the scents were too intermingled for him to decipher.  _ Thank god the choker is waterproof or else I’d be caught. _

The chatter between the three came to an abrupt stop as one of them suddenly let out an anguished cry. Instantly the scent of cedarwood and lavender exploded and overwhelmed the entire room.

As soon as the smell hit his senses, Haechan crumpled to the floor. His body burned as his mind fell into a dizzy stupor. The water that had pooled below him did nothing to alleviate the warmth that took over his senses. Belatedly, he realized that a growl ripped through the air.

_ Alpha,  _ the omega in him howled. 

The other alpha in the room shouted something and was followed by a series of thuds. It wasn’t long until Haechan was left behind in his stall, still reeling from the previous events. Somehow, he managed to wipe himself off and shakily dressed himself.

_ This is fine. Absolutely fine. You’ve had heats before this is nothing different _ , Haechan chants in his mind, pointedly ignoring the signs that suggested otherwise. That wasn’t his soulmate. Nope. Not at all. He just got his heat earlier than expected.

As he began packing his stuff, the sudden realization of something missing hit him.

His shirt. The shirt he discarded as soon as he stepped in the locker room was gone. 

_ Well, shit. Looks like he’s cutting his classes today _ .

-

After emailing his professors about his “rut”, Haechan was excused from his classes for a week. One of the perks of living in a wolf society was that no one questioned it when someone fell into a rut or heat. It didn’t excuse the requirements and readings though.

So by the time he got back to school, Haechan was struggling to catch up with all his school work. Times like this he wished he had a pack to rely on and whine to, but he didn’t. He was a lone "alpha" and no one approached him because of that.

Thankfully, he shared all his major classes with this one guy and had even formed something resembling a friendship. It was his luck that Jisung was one of the friendliest people he has ever met.

“Ugh, Jisung-ah! Why are there so many readings already? It’s only been a week!”

Jisung merely laughed at his demeanor. “Well, that’s what you get for getting a rut, alpha.”

“Sorry, omega. Missed my protection?” Haechan slowly plays along. He still wasn’t used to being seen as an alpha by the people around him, but he was getting better.

“Excuse me, I have my mate to do that for me,” Jisung scoffs, moving his neck to flaunt show off his mating mark.

Haechan rolled his eyes at the sight. “Yes, Jisung, we get it. You have a mate. Stop telling everyone.”

Jisung only laughed in response. “It’s not my fault that you don’t have one.”

“Have what?” someone asked, catching both their attention.

“Hey, babe,” Jisung greets Hyunjin, his soulmate, as the latter pressed a peck on his cheek and sat down. Both Jisung and Hyunjin immediately gravitated towards each other as if a magnetic force was pulling them together.

“A mate,” Jisung answers.

“Oh! Speaking of mates! Did you hear? Mark Lee found his soulmate!” Hyunjin gushes, looking at the both of them with a giddy expression.

“Honey, I love you and all, but that was news last week,” Jisung deadpans, causing the expression in Hyunjin’s face to morph into one of betrayal.

“What? I only heard about it today! Why didn’t you tell me?” Hyunjin whined. Haechan didn’t bother to hide his cringe as the conversation played before him.

“I thought you knew! It was all the school could talk about!” 

“Wait, what happened?” Haechan interjected, effectively halting the conversation between the couple before it could dissolve into an argument. 

“You don’t know?” Jisung asks incredulously, his eyes widening. Hyunjin, on the other hand, looked at him with glee.

“See! Haechan doesn’t know!”

“He has an excuse. He was absent for the whole week,” Jisung quickly retorts. “Anyways, Mark Lee found his soulmate in the locker room but no one knows who it was.”

Hyunjin nods in agreement before adding, “Apparently, he was with Na Jaemin and Huang Renjun because one of them forgot something? Probably Mark, I don’t know, but apparently there was this shirt that was on the bench and it triggered his rut. They said that Jaemin even had to fight Mark to get him to calm down.”

Jisung said something in response but it completely flew over Haechan’s head. Anxiety clawed his chest. The fear of people finding out his true nature and the consequences of it flooded his mind.

_ They’re going to come after me. _

“Haechan? You okay?”

Haechan jumped, catching Hyunjin and Jisung’s concerned gazes.

“Oh sorry, just remembered a homework,” Haechan easily lies, showcasing one of his bright smiles. Minjun always seemed to relax when he did that. 

“Anyhow,” Haechan trails. “Who’s Mark Lee?”

This time, they both stared at him blankly.

“Are you serious?” Hyunjin asks.

“What, is he popular or something?”

“Is he popular or something?” Jisung mocks in disbelief. “What, are you gonna ask us who’s NCT next?”

At Haechan’s impassive expression, both Hyunjin and Jisung shouted in surprise.

“You don’t know NCT?”! “What are you?!”

“Okay, okay! I get it! I live under a rock!” Haechan yells in defense, successfully shutting the two up.

“I just moved here, don’t judge me,” Haechan huffs, crossing his arm as the couple managed to calm down and nod in understanding.

“Okay, okay,” Jisung starts. “NCT is one of the biggest packs in Seoul. Very influential and powerful as well, so if you want to live a good life, don’t mess with them.”

“Also, the leader of their pack is an omega,” Hyunjin says. 

Haechan’s eyes widened at the statement. “What? An omega? How is that possible?”

“Why? Got a problem with that?” Jisung asks, the threatening tone in his voice amplifying with his gaze.

“N-No! Nothing at all! It’s just unconventional is all,” Haechan quickly reassures, waving his hands to dispel any doubt. 

Jisung relinquishes his act and smiles proudly. “Yeah! Lee Taeyong is the most unconventional leader, but it works! NCT is pretty big now thanks to his leadership.”

“He sounds amazing,” Haechan mutters, earning an approving look from Jisung. Something akin to happiness and hope settled inside Haechan. There was a chance for people like them after all.

“Hell yeah, he is. It makes sense that his mate is someone as amazing as him as well,” Hyunjin smiles. 

Before Haechan could ask, Hyunjin added. “His mate is Jung Jaehyun. He’s a chaebol - his uncle owns SM Corporation.”

Haechan may have been hidden from the world but even he has heard of SM. The company was insanely rich and powerful. Every house in Korea had at least one product from them. 

_ I wonder if he knows Suho-ssi _ , Haechan couldn’t help but think. The elder didn’t say it, but based on the office they were in, Haechan was pretty sure that Suho worked for the company. (Okay, so he overheard Suho and Lay talking about a merger in SM but whatever)

“Mark Lee truly is one lucky son of a bitch,” Jisung says with no malice in his voice. In fact, his tone held a small amount of longing.

Haechan let out a sound of confusion. “Why Mark Lee? Aren’t there other NCT members?”

The amused glint in Jisung’s eyes did nothing to alleviate his curiosity.

“Yeah, but none of them are the son of Lee Taeyong and Jung Jaehyun.”

A sudden thought of him and this Mark person meeting the infamous Taeyong and Jaehyun flashed his mind. Inwardly, he shuddered.

_ Guess I know who I'm avoiding now _ .

-

“Lee Haechan?”

Haechan looked up at the sound of his name. He was in the cafeteria, researching about the financial status of Gangnam for Suho (no he was totally not procrastinating reading the first chapter of the Korean constitution. Not at all) that he failed to notice three looming figures standing across him.

A quick whiff of the air had panic settling in his nerves.

“Hi, I’m Mark Lee. I heard that you were in the locker room a week ago?”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this is so much exposition but!!! They meet!!! Yay
> 
> Constructive criticism is always appreciated <3


	3. No Choice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donghyuck manages to avoid Mark and NCT long enough. Now it's fate's turn to play.

Haechan was never the type of person to run away from something. It was a trait that he cultivated as Donghyuck and wanted to keep as Haechan. Now though, as three NCT members stand across him, one of them being his very own soulmate, he is now seriously considering an entire personality change.

“What do you want?” he finds himself rudely blurting out as the three boys unashamedly sit across him. 

He could see the strawberry haired boy, an alpha, look at him with creased eyebrows. The blonde boy beside him, a beta, sported a frown at his statement. Mark Lee was the only one who offered a small smile.

“We just want to know if you saw anyone in the locker room last week?” Mark reiterated.

_ Nice. They don’t suspect a thing. Just keep this alpha act up _ .

“How do you even know I was there?” Haechan was pretty sure that they were all busy with calming Mark down to notice anything else.

“Sanha told us. Jeno here,” the pink-haired boy gestures to the blondie beside him and continues, “asked around and here we are.”

“I’m Jaemin, by the way,” the guy adds as an afterthought, extending his hand as a form of greeting.

Warily Haechan eyes the outstretched hand before him. A few more seconds of silence passed when Jaemin awkwardly retracted his greeting. Haechan is aware of his rude behaviour. If Jihyun, or even Suho, were there, they would have smacked him for his antics, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care at the moment.  _ They cornered me, damn it. _

“Anyways,” Jeno uncomfortably started. “We were hoping you could tell us what you knew.”

Haechan raised an inquisitive eyebrow. “Tell me the reason first, and then maybe I’ll indulge you guys.”

Jaemin and Jeno glared at him in annoyance while Mark flushes, red dusting his cheeks as he shyly smiles. “I met my soulmate.”

_ What the fuck? This is Mark Lee, right? The alpha son of Lee Taeyong and Jung Jaehyun? _

“If you met your soulmate, then why are you asking me?” Haechan prods, feigning ignorance. 

At his question, Mark’s face fell into one of frustration and sadness. It was clear that the boy desperately wanted to meet his mysterious soulmate, but was left grasping at the straws of their disappearance.

_ Kind of like Cinderella _ , Haechan secretly jokes.

Jaemin was the one who spoke up. “It was a shirt that triggered Mark hyung.”

“Ah,” Haechan says in understanding. “Well, as much as I’d love to help, I’m afraid that your mystery boy arrived after I got in the stall.”

“So you didn’t see him?” Mark reiterated, looking at him, a tinge of sadness plastering his features. As if he was hoping for Haechan to suddenly change his statement.

Haechan, at least, had the decency to look apologetic as he lied, “Sorry. He left before I finished.”

_ There is absolutely no way that Mark Lee was the same person Jisung and Hyunjin talked about. _

Mark lets out a sigh of disappointment as Jeno placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“Alright. Sorry for bothering you. Thank you for answering us,” Mark said. Jeno looked over to Haechan and gave him an eye smile. Jaemin, on the other hand, remained silent as he observed the “alpha”.

“It’s okay. I hope you find your soulmate soon,” Haechan quickly replied. Something about Jaemin’s gaze kept him on edge.

Mark smiled at him kindly. His chest fluttered in response.  _ Um, what?  _

“We’ll take our leave then,” Jeno said, prompting all three of them to stand up from their seats.

“See you around, Haechan,” Mark bid with a small wave and a cute smile before the three NCT members walked away. The flutter in Haechan’s chest thundered as he was rendered speechless, staring at the three retreating figures.

_ Well, shit. This is gonna be harder than I thought _ .

-

After his meeting with Mark, Haechan had made it his mission to do a better job at avoiding the NCT pack. He didn’t do so well the last time, seeing as he only lasted a few hours, so as any good plan goes, the first step was research. And he knew just who to ask.

“You better have a good reason for this. We canceled our date just for you,” Jisung huffs as he plops across the cafeteria bench, Hyunjin following after.

Haechan only rolled his eyes at his friend’s dramatic flair. “Oh shut up, you guys just had a lunch date. Need I remind you, you guys left me alone!”

Hyunjin cackles. “So is this payback?”

“Damn right it is,” Haechan replies. A beat later, all three of them erupted into a fit of giggles.

“Okay, okay, enough,” Jisung says, waving his hands in an attempt to calm them all down. “Now why did you call us here?”

“Yeah!” Hyunjin agrees. “We always meet in the cafeteria. Why can’t we meet in your condo?”

Haechan stiffens for a second. He didn’t wear his choker in his living space so his condo was left with the stench of the ocean and sunflowers. It was his Donghyuck space after all.

“Dude, my condo is a mess,” he easily deflects. “And why my condo? Don’t you two share a unit together? Why can’t  _ I  _ crash in yours?” 

“We desecrated basically every part of our place,” Jisung brusquely stated, before wiggling his eyebrows and continuing, “Unless you’re into that.”

Haechan’s face twisted into disgust and screamed, “Ew! You guys are gross!”

Hyunjin bellowed out a burst of laughter while Jisung merely shrugged his shoulders. It took a couple more moments before everything settled once again. (Both Jisung and Hyunjin would playfully let their hands wander just to see Haechan turn red and splutter.)

“Now come on, tell us what you want to ask,” Jisung asked once they promised to stop torturing Haechan with their displays of affection.

“I wanted to ask about NCT.”

“Oh? Why?” Hyunjin asked, mirroring Jisung’s confused expression.

“I accidentally ran into one of them and got curious,” Haechan answered. Technically, he didn’t lie. Proudly, Haechan mentally high fives himself.

“Oh my god, you did? Who did you run into?” Hyunjin excitedly interrogated, unconsciously moving closer to Haechan.

“Woah, chill,” Haechan said, putting his hands up to gently push Hyunjin away because even though he liked their company, he still doesn’t trust them enough yet for physical contact.

“Sorry, sorry. I don’t really have many classes with them,” Hyunjin apologizes, moving back to sling an arm over Jisung.

“Of course, you don’t. None of them are majoring in interior design like you,” Jisung answers, grabbing Hyunjin’s nearest hand and caressing it.

“What courses are they in?” Haechan asked.

“Well right now, there’s like,” Jisung answers, pausing for a moment as he counted with his fingers, “9 of them in college.”

“How many are they usually?” Haechan couldn’t help but ask.

“Well, they’re currently 20. 2 of them are in high school and the rest are all working,” Hyunjin explains.

Haechan hums as he took in the information. Twenty people isn’t much for a pack, but based on his assumptions, they were relatively young. Immediately, suspicion planted itself in his mind.

His old pack was also young. Their leader, in comparison with the other packs he knew of, was one of the youngest peaking at the age of 47. They quickly grew in the ranks mainly because of the radical conservative ideals that the alpha male held onto.

_ If NCT was as young as he thinks, there must’ve been some sort of extremist ideal that binds them together. _

“What are their courses?” Haechan decides to ask.

“Hmm, well Huang Renjun and Lee Jeno are in Biology. I heard that they’re planning to go to med school. Na Jaemin and Xiao Dejun are in Computer Science. Wong Yukhei, Liu Yangyang, and Hendery are in Communication. Mark Lee is in Business Management, and finally, Kim Jungwoo is in Political Science like us!” Jisung lists off as if it was common knowledge.

Haechan could only blink in surprise at Jisung’s extensive insight. “Dude, what the fuck? Are you like...a stalker or something?”

“He doesn’t even pay that much attention to me!” Hyunjin complains with a pout. Jisung instantly turned to his mate and began appeasing the older with whispers and kisses.

It was at this point that Haechan mentally checked out. It was no coincidence that the courses of each NCT member would be wholly impactful for their pack. Of course, it could just be the “safe” option, but Haechan highly doubted. Interestingly, Mark, out of everyone, was the only one that was majoring in Business Management. 

_ Seems like we have an heir. _

“...cause I can’t see them during breaks.” Haechan catches Jisung defending himself to Hyunjin.

“You better give me  _ extra  _ attention to make up for it,” Hyunjin lowly whispers to Jisung, causing the latter to shiver. Unfortunately for Haechan, he was witnessing all of it.

“Guys! I’m still here!” he shrieked. Hyunjin just chuckled with glee while Jisung flushed in embarrassment.

To stop any of them from saying anything else, Haechan questioned, “What do you mean you don’t see them?”

Thankful for the distraction, Jisung hastily answered, “they usually hang out in the cafeteria near the sciences building since the majority of them have classes in that area.”

“Even the polsci guy?” Haechan asked in disbelief. The sciences building was on the opposite end of their own social sciences building.  _ That would be too much of a hassle to walk to. _

“Yeah! I know right! Jungwoo hyung is crazy,” Jisung fervently agrees.

“Aw, come on babe. You know he only goes cause Lucas hyung drags him to hang out with the other first years,” Hyunjin justifies.

“I know, but like, even I don’t visit the Arts building every day.”

“Wait, who’s Lucas?” Haechan asks, halting the response Hyunjin had at the tip of his tongue. If he remembered correctly, Jisung didn’t mention a Lucas.

“Oh, Wong Yukhei is Lucas hyung’s Chinese name. He said he wants to be called Lucas so yeah,” Jisung explains.

Haechan hums in response. Avoiding the NCT pack seems to be easier than he thought.  _ Okay, now all I have to do is remember their names and faces and steer away. I got this _ .

A quick glance at his phone’s lock screen had him standing up abruptly. “Sorry guys, but I gotta go. See you all tomorrow!”

Before his friends could bid him goodbye, Haechan was already halfway across the cafeteria. He had been so caught up with his academics and Mark Lee that he had fallen asleep last night without charging the small pendant of his choker. Though Suho did explain later on that the choker could last 2 days without charge, he wasn’t going to take that risk.

Even if he did miss the smell of the ocean and sunflowers, he needed to be an alpha. It was the only way he can survive.

-

The first semester passed by in a flash. 

Haechan managed to avoid running into any of the NCT members throughout his stay in college. It wasn’t that difficult, really. The only person he was worried about the meeting was Jungwoo. Luckily, the tall boy, despite being from the same course, was in his third year already so they didn’t share any classes together..

Life was good. Yeah, his heats had been hitting him harder ever since the discovery of his soulmate, but Haechan was used to pain. What he didn’t expect, however, was befriending more people from Jisung and Hyunjin’s pack - Stray Kids, they liked to call themselves.

“God, I can’t believe the sem is over,” Felix sighed, plopping beside Haechan on the couch. They were currently lounging in Seungmin’s room, despite the said boy being out for a test. 

When Haechan expressed his concern about invading the alpha’s place, Felix and Jisung merely laughed. They were a pack, after all, they had said, dismissing Haechan’s worry. Their carefree attitude around alphas in spite of their statuses as omegas was something he would never understand. 

“Yeah, it feels like it’s been longer,” Jisung agrees, draping his legs across Felix’s thighs.

“We basically crawled our way out of all those exams. I mean, seriously! Who gives two hours for a POS100 exam?” Haechan complains, earning a groan from his coursemate.

“Don’t remind me. My hand was cramped for  _ hours _ ,” Jisung sighs, draping an arm across his eyes.

“At least you guys weren’t staring at computer codes for hours,” Felix huffs.

“Oh yes, we’re so sorry you poor comp sci major,” Haechan mutters sarcastically. Despite the tone in Haechan’s voice, Felix grinned at him cutely.

“Yes, pity me, alpha,” he cheekily said, leaning over to Haechan and linking their arms together. Due to the unabashed nature of Felix and Jisung, it didn’t take long for Haechan to get comfortable enough with physical affection. At least with them.

_ It’s because omegas are safer _ .

“Aw, my poor omega,” Haechan coos, snuggling deeper into Felix. He missed this - the skinship.

“Geez, you’re lucky Changbin hyung isn’t here,” Jisung states, eyeing his two friends with nonchalance.

“Changbin hyung can suck it,” Felix retorts.

“Nah, you would,” Haechan snickers. Jisung let out a yelp of appreciation and high fived Haechan, whilst Felix scowled.

“Just cause you caught us one time!” 

“We were coming over! You knew that!” Jisung screeched.

“Whatever,” Felix mutters defeatedly and crosses his arms. “Why must Chan hyung call Changbin hyung for the meeting? Now I’m left alone with the devil.”

“Psh, you’re just jealous that Changbin hyung is going to be talking to Jungwoo hyung and Lucas hyung,” Jisung taunts.

“It’s not my fault! Changbin hyung had a crush on Lucas hyung!”

Jisung rolled his eyes. “He said he thought Lucas hyung was hot. Literally, we all do. He ain’t special.”

“What’s the meeting about?” Haechan blurts, his curiosity getting the better of him. “I mean if you’re allowed to say, that is.”

“It’s fine. It’s no secret anyways,” Jisung waves off Haechan’s apology.

“NCT has been asking different pack leaders for the scent of each member,” Felix explains.

“But why?”

“They’re still looking for Mark’s soulmate,” Jisung answers as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

Haechan freezes, his heart hammering at the thought of Mark Lee continuing the search. After hearing nothing from the NCT pack, Haechan had reason to believe that they just gave up.

“I thought they gave up?” Haechan voiced out.

“I thought so too. Apparently they were just trying to find it on their own, but after getting nothing, they decided to directly ask each pack within the vicinity,” Felix replied.

“Yeah. We heard rumours about it, but then they actually contacted us so Chan hyung and Changbin hyung are meeting up with them right now to give our information,” Jisung adds.

“Isn’t it risky? To tell another pack about your scents?” Haechan questions. Scents were kind of like a thumbprint. Each person has their own unique smell, making it a part of the identification process. Though no news of scent cloning has made it to mass media, his choker was enough to convince him that it could be illegally used as a weapon.

Jisung and Felix merely shrug. 

“Maybe,” Felix sats, “But soulmates are important. Anyone would do anything to find them.”

Jisung nods in agreement. “Yeah. And the fact that the NCT pack is putting away their pride and actively finding Mark hyung’s soulmate speaks volumes.”

“Gosh, I can’t even imagine how Mark hyung must be feeling,” he mutters as an after-thought.

“What do you mean?” Haechan asked.

Jisung looks at him and expounds, “Imagine  _ finally _ finding your soulmate after so long, but not knowing who it is. Like, no matter what you do or how hard you try, no one matches up and you’re left alone with the thought that maybe - just maybe - you’ll never find your soulmate again.”

The ugly clutches of shame and sadness clawed at his chest, urging his walls of fear and insecurity to fester. The thought of Mark suffering because of him caused a pang of discomfort echo throughout his whole body.

“I can’t imagine going through one whole semester after that. Mark hyung must be insane,” Felix murmured. 

Uncomfortable with the somber tone that their conversation strayed to, Haechan cleared his throat and changed the topic.

“Speaking of semesters, have you seen the syllabus for the second sem? I can’t believe we have statistics.”

“Oh! I have statistics too!” Felix yells, the dull expression in his face turning into one of excitement.

“Oh no,” Jisung moaned. “Please don’t let me be classmates with Felix. I see him enough as it is.”

Felix stuck his tongue out and scooted nearer to Haechan. “I don’t want to be classmates with you either. I want Haechan-ie.”

Jisung sits up and moves to smack Felix in the arm. “You brat! You’d be lucky to have me as a classmate!”

As the two pack members began bickering between them, Haechan couldn’t help but watch the two with a mix of amusement and fondness. He was going to be fine. No matter what the second sem throws at him, Haechan will be okay.

_ I can’t wait for the semester to start. _

-

_ I wish the ground would swallow me whole _ .

Annoyed, Haechan trudged into the room for his Statistics class. He had woken up late due to research for Suho, causing him to rush over to the school without packing his lunch (which was just an egg sandwich), and to make matters worse, none of his friends were in the same class. Felix and Jisung somehow managed to be classmates while Donghyuck was left on his own devices.

So yes, the second semester was already a big no in his books.

_ Stupid school and stupid schedules _ .

Without sparing the room a glance, Haechan snagged a front-row seat near the window. It was his favurite spot no matter what room because it allows him to listen better  _ and _ have something to distract him with.

As soon as he settled in his seat, he pulled out his phone and checked his email to read the feedback Suho had given the research he submitted at 3 in the morning. The text message warning him about his sleeping and eating habits goes unread. He’s not in the mood to be nagged on right now.

The spots beside him were vacant as other students filed in and stuck to their respective pack so Haechan paid them no mind. The chatter in the background acted as some sort of white noise machine, lulling Haechan into a state of calm.

Suddenly, the familiar scent of cedarwood and lavender entered the room. All too quickly, Haechan whipped his head towards the door.

Mark Lee and Na Jaemin stood at the door in all their glory. Every pack seemed to wait with bated breath as their eyes roamed the room, presumably searching for an empty seat. As if realizing what was happening, Haechan tries to duck out of their gazes but was too late.

Na Jaemin had made eye contact.

Despite Haechan’s efforts in avoiding the pack, Jaemin had been spotted loitering around the Social Sciences building often. Logically, Haechan knows that he was only there for Jungwoo, but by the way, his eyes searched and lingered on Haechan, which was enough to make him wary.

“Hey, Haechan.”

_ Of course _ .  _ Damn you, universe. _

“Hi, Mark. Jaemin,” Haechan politely greets, watching in horror as the two NCT members sit beside him, Mark taking the seat right beside him.

Before anything else could happen, the professor walked in and called the attention of the class.  _ Thank you, lord. _

After attendance was accounted for, the professor said, “Okay, before we start. I’m gonna give everyone a heads up.”

“For your finals, you’re going to be presenting a research paper as a group. Throughout the whole semester, you’ll be working on this paper, so I suggest you find good group members because this can make or break your grade.”

A boy with glasses raised his hand. “How many members per group?”

“It’s honestly up to you guys, but I’m setting the minimum to three and the maximum to five,” the professor answered. “Alright since it seems like most of you are murmuring to yourselves already, I’ll give you guys ten minutes to form a group.”

_ Nevermind, there is no god. _

As he expected, both Jaemin and Mark turned to him.

“You want to be groupmates?” Mark asked, his eyes looking at him with something akin to hope.

At Haechan’s hesitation, Jaemin intervened. “You don’t know anyone here, right? It’d be nice for you to join us.”

“Unless,” he starts, staring at Haechan with a challenging gaze, “There’s another reason for you to say no.”

Not having anything else to say, Haechan relented, “N-No! I’m just surprised you asked me, is all.”

Mark, oblivious to the tension between him and Jaemin, grins at him happily. “Great! Do you want to get more people? Personally, I don’t want to. I think we’re better as three. What do you guys think?”

“I’m fine with us three,” Jaemin answers, still staring Haechan down.

Haechan gulps. “Same.”

“Nice, I’m gonna submit the groupings,” Mark says, bending down to his bag, fumbling a bit to bring out some paper and a pen.

_ It’s official. The second sem is definitely worse. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> more...exposition....i'm so sorry TAT 
> 
> if it wasn't clear!!
> 
> Biology: Renjun, Jeno (both 1st year)  
> Comp Sci: Jaemin (1st year), Dejun (2nd year)  
> Communication: Yangyang (1st year), Lucas, Hendery (2nd year)  
> Business Management: Mark (1st year) shhh don't ask me why he's different from 99 line  
> Pol Sci: Jungwoo (3rd year)
> 
> also omg wtf I can't believe so many of you guys are reading this jskfjd thank you so much, I'm kinda overwhelmed by the thought of it. again, constructive criticism is welcomed!!! <3333


	4. Peek-A-Boo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark and Jaemin takes a peek at Donghyuck's life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: Depictions of panic attacks and attempted rape. Please don't read this chapter if it's a sensitive topic.

It’s been about three weeks, and Haechan’s confident enough to say that statistics is his most dreaded subject. Not only was he lowkey (highkey) struggling with the subject, Mark made it even more difficult to focus on the teacher. The scent of his soulmate and the knowledge that he was right there, unmated, gave him an itch he couldn’t quite satiate.

Perhaps, he was going crazy.

“Okay, class. Since we finished the module earlier than expected, please work on the seatwork in Chapter 3. Odd numbers only. Feel free to ask me anything,” the professor said, resolutely sitting on the teacher’s chair.

Heaving a big sigh, Haechan could do nothing but flip his book to the seatwork. Normally, professors don’t use textbooks, but for some reason, it was a requirement for the class. He eyed his newly bought scientific calculator ( _ Why are these so expensive anyways? It completely set him off in his budget plan _ ) and begrudgingly started in answering.

Then he got stuck in the first question.

Unconsciously, he stuck his tongue out in concentration as he kept re-reading the problem with furrowed brows. Statistics, he finds, despite being very number oriented, requires an insane amount of reading comprehension. 

“You need help?” 

Haechan tore his eyes away from the problem and looked at his seatmate. Mark Lee was wearing a dark blue shirt paired with silver framed glasses. Those damn glasses.

“I’m good. I’ll figure it out eventually,” Haechan answers although he desperately needed a guiding hand, but he made a promise to himself. He was going to limit his interactions as much as he could with them. Right now though, with Mark Lee looking at him like that, it was getting difficult.

“Come on,” Mark whined, moving his seat closer to Haehcan. “Don’t let me suffer alone. Nana is a compsci major and he finds this shit easy! I need normal people to relate to.”

Haechan feigned indifference despite the quickening of his heartbeat and raised an eyebrow. “You’re calling me normal?”

“In the best way,” Mark grins.

Haechan rolls his eyes, not making any effort to stop the amused smile painting his face. 

“Whatever. Let’s finish answering this thing.”

After 30 minutes, both Haechan and Mark managed to get halfway through the problems when Jaemin coughed, getting their attention. 

“Dang, you guys are so slow.”

“We would’ve finished it sooner if you helped us,” Mark retaliates. Jaemin had already finished everything 15 minutes prior, but instead of contributing anything insightful, he chose to make snide comments.

“What’s the fun in that? I like seeing two dumb alphas try and solve something.”

_ You’re an alpha too, _ Haechan wanted to bite back, but didn’t. He wasn’t friendly enough yet around them.  _ And let’s hope to keep it that way _ .

Mark simply huffed in response and averted his attention back to the problem set. A few minutes of answering later, Jaemin interrupted again.

“So, Haechan. You’re a polsci major right?”

The boy in question merely glanced at Jaemin before continuing writing his solutions. “Yeah.”

“Have you met Jungwoo hyung?”

“Nah. He’s an upperclassman so I don’t really see him around as much,” Haechan answers, staring at Mark’s own answer sheet and discretely copying off of him. What? You can’t expect him to solve the problems while talking to someone. He’s bad at multitasking.

Jaemin hums in understanding. “Where do you hang out anyway? We rarely see you.”

Haechan freezes. What was he supposed to say? If he told the truth, there was a possibility that they would go and look for him. If he lied though, they could still look for him and confront him later on.  _ It’s a lose-lose situation _ .

“I’m usually in the library.” He settles in saying. It wasn’t a lie, per say. If he weren’t hanging out with any of the Stray Kids members, he was in the library. 

“Oh, the one near the social sciences building?” Mark asked, surprising Haechan. 

“Yeah,” Haechan affirms. Jaemin nods while Mark gives him a small smile. The same flutter in his chest reappeared, snapping him out of the conversation and back into numbers.

Once they finally finished the seatwork and turned it in, there was still 10 minutes left until classes ended. The three seatmates packed their bags and left the room, Haechan inwardly cheering at the feeling of freedom.

“Well, I’m gonna go ahead, I guess. See you around,” he waves, starting off towards the opposite direction of where Jaemin and Mark are facing.

“Wait,” Mark calls out, grabbing Haechan’s small wrist to stop the younger from leaving. When Haechan faced him, the touch was gone. “Do you want to study Statistics together sometime?”

Instinctively, Haechan’s eyes flitted over Jaemin to gauge his reaction. Based on the delightfully bewildered expression on his face, Jaemin didn’t expect Mark’s invitation but was nonetheless delighted.

“Oh, you don’t have to. I can study on my own,” Haechan tries to reject. 

“No, it’s fine! It’ll be fun,” Mark states. Upon seeing Haechan’s unsure expression, he hastily adds, “Please? It’d be nice to get to know you. You know, for the project.”

And who was Haechan to deny Mark? Especially when the boy looked at him with such an optimistic expression.

“Sure.”

The grin that Mark gives Haechan was blinding. “Great! I’ll see you then!” 

Haechan pointedly ignores the way Mark had said I instead of We. 

With one last wave, Mark grabbed Jaemin by the elbow and rushed away from their classroom.

“Bye, Haechan!” the pink-haired boy shouts before he got dragged away.

Haechan remained in his position for a while before he turned around, a happy smile painting his features.  _ One little hangout wouldn’t hurt _ .

The sound of a teasing voice echoed throughout the empty hallways. “For the project, huh?”

Haechan flushes red, as he hurriedly shuffles toward the exit. He didn’t want to stick around to hear the answer.

  
  
  


Later that day, as Haechan finds himself buried in sample cases for one of his majors, the sound of his phone pinging from a notification resounded his empty room.

  
  


From: Unknown

To: Haechan

[Sent: 23:36pm]

Hey, Haechan! It’s me Mark, haha

I was wondering when you’d like to meet up to study?

From: Haechan

To: Unknown

[Sent: 23:37pm]

Oh, hi Mark! How’d you get my number lol

Also, I’m free anytime!

From: Unknown

To: Haechan

[Sent: 23:38pm]

Oh, I asked Nana to ask Felix for your number

I hope you don’t mind

  
  


Haechan waited a couple more minutes for Mark to say something else. When nothing came up, he replied.

From: Haechan 

To: Unknown

[Sent: 23:45pm]

I don’t mind, Mark, if that’s what you’re worried about

  
  


From: Unknown

To: Haechan

[Sent: 23:45pm]

Thank you

I was worried I scared you away haha

  
  


Haechan types out a response, but hesitates. 

_ Fuck it _ , he thinks before pressing the send button. Not wanting to see the response, Haechan places his phone on his desk and focuses back on his readings.

From: Haechan 

To: Unknown

[Sent: 23:46pm]

Mark Lee

You’re the least scary alpha I’ve met

  
  


If Haechan clamored to grab his phone at the sound of his phone notifying him of a message, no one needed to know.

  
  


From: Unknown

To: Haechan

[Sent: 23:48pm]

Nice

Anyways, are you free this Friday? 

We can study and get a headstart on the project

From: Haechan 

To: Unknown

[Sent: 23:49pm]

Friday?

I think i’m free

  
  


From: Unknown

To: Haechan

[Sent: 23:49pm]

Great! 

Do you wanna meet up after class in the starbucks near school?

  
  


From: Haechan 

To: Unknown

[Sent: 23:50pm]

Uh, sure

My class ends at 4 on Fridays

Will Jaemin be there?

  
  


From: Unknown

To: Haechan

[Sent: 23:51pm]

Cool, I can wait for your class to finish if you want?

Also, yeah! Nana will be there

From: Haechan 

To: Unknown

[Sent: 23:51pm]

No need!

I’ll meet up with you guys in Starbucks instead

  
  


From: Unknown

To: Haechan

[Sent: 23:52pm]

Okay!

See you on Friday!

:)

  
  


Perhaps, it was the silence of the night or the fact that it wasn’t a face to face conversation, but Haechan felt brave. 

  
  


From: Haechan 

To: Unknown

[Sent: 23:51pm]

Can’t wait!

:)

-

Friday came all too soon for his liking. As much as Haechan tried to not think about their meeting later on, it continued to persist in his mind. His friends seemed to notice it too.

“Haechan? You alright?”

He looked up from his half eaten sandwich and startles, “Huh?”

“You’ve been quieter today than usual, and you’re kinda picking on your food,” Jisung points out, Hyunjin and Felix nodding alongside him.

“Oh, sorry. Got a bad result in one of my classes so I’m kinda feeling bummed about it.”

“Ah is it POS101? Cause same,” Jisung puffs, placing a hand over Haechan’s shoulder in solidarity. 

“Yeah, dude, I feel you guys. I have so many plates to do and I’m not even halfway done with ‘em,” Hyunjin gorans, dramatically leaning over to Jisung.

“I’m so jealous of people like Na Jaemin. He’s in my coding class and shit man, I’m struggling while he’s there flying by,” Felix bemoans.

“Aw gee, thank you, Felix,” a voice says, jolting the entire table in attention. His friends slowly turned to the strawberry haired boy with widened eyes. If Haechan weren’t filled with dread, he would’ve laughed.

“I can help you sometime if you want,” Jaemin says, giving their Australian friend a bright smile. 

Felix sputtered in response, Jisung and Hyunjin snickering at the omega’s state. 

“Anyways, I came over here to talk to Haechan.”

He could feel the stares of his friends burning on him, but Haechan paid them no mind. He did his best to emanate confidence, despite the beating of his heart, and he held his gaze with Jaemin’s.

“Yeah?”

“I heard from Mark that your last class today is at 4. Mine too. Let’s walk together.”

From the corner of his eye, Haechan could see Hyunjin’s jaw drop. 

“Uh, are you sure? My class is gonna be in the Soc-Sci building,” he tries dissuading, but is only met with Jaemin’s dismissal.

“It’s fine. I’ll meet you there.”

Haechan gulps. What else was he supposed to say? He didn’t have any other reason to deny. He’s willing to bet that even if he did, Jaemin would’ve found a way to counter him.  _ Na Jaemin is one persistent fucker _ .

“Fine,” he acquiesces. 

Jaemin grins and claps his hands. “Great! I’ll see you later. Bye guys! Bye Felix!”

And just like that, Jaemin left their table, leaving Haechan to face the questioning and betrayed gazes of his friends.

“Lee Haechan! What the fuck!” Hyunjin shouted as soon as Jaemin was out of earshot.

“You’re going out with Jaemin  _ and _ Mark?! Why didn’t you tell us?” Jisung screeched, smacking Haechan’s arm for good effect.

“Ow! Chill! It’s for our stat project!” Haechan resisted, scooting away from Jisung’s flailing arms.

“Stat project?!” the three exclaimed in unison.

“So you’re telling me that not only is Mark and Jaemin in  _ your _ class, but they’re also your groupmates?!” Felix recounts, staring at Haechan with bewilderment across his face. “Why the hell were you complaining about stat this whole time?!”

“It’s a hard subject okay!” Haechan whines. “Mark and Jaemin were nice enough to adopt me in their group cause I’m the only one without a pack.”

Haechan knows that pulling the lone alpha act on them was a low blow, but at the sight of his friends’ discomfort, he couldn’t bother himself to feel sorry. If it works, it works.

“I’m glad that they got you then,” Jisung expressed, a fond smile directed towards Haechan. Beside him, Hyunjin wiggled his eyebrows.

“Who knows, maybe you’ll join their pack too one day.”

Haechan’s flustered shirek had everyone laughing. “I hate you guys.”

“You don’t,” Jisung points out. Haechan didn’t refute their claims. It still didn’t stop him from faking his annoyance though.

“You’re all the worst. Thank god, I’m not in your pack.”

“Yeah, or else you’re gonna have to mate with Minho hyung,” Felix jokes. 

Despite the progress made within the community, joining a pack was still kind of considered sacred. If someone wasn’t born into a pack, the only way to join one was through mating or adoption. Heck, even when Suho offered Haechan to join the pack, he didn’t miss the adoption papers peacefully settled on the desk.

“Hey, Minho hyung is a catch!” Jisung defends, prompting Hyunjin to stare at him with jealousy.

“Don’t say that! You had a crush on him growing up!” 

As the couple continue bickering, Felix stares at Haechan with a pleased smile. 

“Isn’t it amazing how easy it is to turn people against each other?”

“You’re terrifying,” Haechan says, shivering at the all too delightful expression on Felix’s face as he watched the argument.

Felix just gives Haechan a glance. “Be glad I like you.”

Omega or not, Haechan was glad that he had Felix on his side. Hyunjin and Jisung can suck it.

-

“Okay, class, that’s it for today’s lesson. Be sure to submit the draft to your papers over the weekend.”

The class mindlessly murmured in agreement, each student too busy rushing to get out of the room. Haechan, on the other hand, took his sweet time.  _ Maybe if I delay long enough, I’d avoid the inevitable _ .

By the time Haechan walked out of the building, only a few students were left milling around the area. He liked times like these. There was something peaceful about having the campus rather vacant. 

“Was wondering when you’d show up.”

Haechan turned his head to the voice. “Sorry about that, Jaemin. I was fixing some stuff.”

“It’s okay,” Jaemin reassures, then gestures vaguely to the exit. “Shall we?”

Haechan nods. “Let’s go.”

As they made their way out of the campus, no one said anything. If it were anyone else, Haechan would’ve found the silence enjoyable, but this was Na Jaemin - and something about his stares made him vigilant.

“So Haechan,” Jaemin starts, catching Haechan’s attention. “You’re probably wondering why I’m walking with you alone, right?”

“I have an inkling.”

Jaemin eyes him with amusement. “Yeah? Do tell me your theory.”

“Well, you’ve been eyeing me all weirdly since you guys interrogated me so it probably has something to do with Mark’s soulmate,” Haechan answers, determined to keep his eyes in front.

“You’re perceptive,” Jaemin comments. “But yeah, it’s about Mark’s soulmate.”

“What do you want to ask?”

Jaemin doesn’t answer for a while. They were currently crossing the footbridge to the other side, and Haechan was left breathless, not just from walking and talking, but also from the lull in their conversation. 

_ Does he know _ ?

“Sanha wouldn’t lie.”

Haechan, in confusion, glances at Jaemin. “Huh?”

“Sanha. He was the one who told Jeno about you.”

“Oh,” Haechan says, not knowing where the discussion was going.

“I asked around as well and everyone said that you were the only one that was there during that time. It doesn’t make sense that someone else would be in the locker room without other people knowing about it.”

Haechan’s breath hitched and halted as Jaemin stopped and stared at him with a questioning gaze. “So either you’re lying or hiding something.”

“B-But how can you trust the words of other people?” Haechan defends, mentally cursing himself for stuttering. 

“You’re right,” Jaemin shrugs, resuming his steps. Haechan caught up soon enough to hear the alpha say, “I don’t know whether to not to believe what people are saying.”

Then he glances at Haechan. “So I did some research.”

That doesn’t sound good.

“Research?”

“Yeah,” Jaemin nonchalantly states. “Records of you only showed up over a year ago. Why is that?”

Haechan’s anxious eyes met Jaemin’s prodding ones. “Who are you, Lee Haechan?”

“I…” Haechan trails off, trying his best to subdue the oncoming panic attack that threatened to engulf him. 

_ Breathe in, breathe out. Just like noona taught you _ .

“Hey.”

Haechan shifts his focus to the boy beside him. The scent of an alpha rapidly hastening the rate of his heartbeat. 

“Hey, listen to me. Focus on my voice.”

Haechan nods, trying his best to zone back in. 

“You know, I’m not originally part of NCT,” Jaemin rattles, trying to distract the boy. “I found Jeno when we were just kids, so by the time we reached 18, we mated.”

Jaemin pouts, the sight of it calming Haechan down.  _ He won’t hurt you _ .

“Don’t know how to feel about it, though. Jeno keeps demanding my cooking ever since I moved in.”

A laugh bubbled in Haechan’s chest, causing a lovely smile to sneak onto Jaemin’s face.

“You okay to continue walking?” Jaemin asks. It was only then did Haechan realize that they were stopped in the middle of a sidewalk, other people passing through them without a care.

“Yeah,” he answers shyly. They resume their pace.

“I’m not gonna pressure you for an answer, but I need to know,” Jaemin speaks up after a few moments.

Haechan deeply inhales. “What?”

“Whatever you’re not telling us, it won’t hurt Mark right?” 

He doesn’t answer right away. 

_ Can he promise that Mark won’t be hurt?  _ A flash of Mark during their first meeting flashed his mind. The look of frustration and sadness that painted his face twisted his gut.

_ No. I can’t promise that, but I can’t let him ruin his life to be with me. Soulmate or not, Mark deserves the best. Not some used omega. _

“I can’t guarantee that it won’t hurt Mark,” Haechan answers. “But it’s the best thing to do for Mark.”

Jaemin hums, the sight of the Starbucks store nearing. “I’m not gonna argue with you, but I’m just gonna say it. We can’t know what’s best for Mark. Especially when it concerns his soulmate.”

No conversation followed after that. Jaemin’s words echoed in his head.  _ Is he doing the right thing?  _

The sound of a bell chiming snapped him out of thoughts. The pungent smell of coffee attacked his senses as Jaemin pushed open the door of the store, allowing the two of them to walk in. It didn’t take long for them to spot Mark.

“Hey, Mark,” Jaemin greets, claiming the seat across the said boy. Deciding that he wanted to stray away from the pink haired boy after that conversation, Haechan took a seat beside Mark.

“Hey guys.”

“Before we start, I’m gonna go and order something for myself. What about you Haechan?” Jaemin says, pulling his wallet out of the worn out of a gray Herschel bag, and stands up.

“Oh, I’m not gonna order anything,” Haechan answers. He doesn’t like spending the money Suho gave him on anything other than the necessities - food and utilities.

Jaemin shrugs and walks over to line up for the cashier.

“You sure you don’t want anything?” Mark asks, inching closer to Haechan.

“Uh,” Haechan says unintelligibly. Mark was too close. The scent of cedarwood and lavender trapping him in their own little bubble. 

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

“Alright, if you say so,” Mark says, moving his Statistics notes closer to his side as Haechan pulled out his own. “Anyways, how was the walk here? Did Nana say anything?” 

“Not much,” Haechan hesitates. “But he did say that he met Jeno when they were kids.”

“Oh yeah,” Mark chuckles.

“They met in kindergarten and have been inseparable since then. You should’ve seen how clingy they were back then,” he recounts, laughing at the memory.

The sight of Mark’s smile eased something in Haechan’s chest. “Ooh, do tell!”

Mark grins in amusement as he leans in closer and whispers conspiratorially, “It sometimes took a whole hour for Doyoung and Taeil to peel Jaemin away from Jeno whenever class ended.”

Haechan giggled, urging Mark to continue. “Jeno would always cry when he got home and demand Doyoung to let him use a phone to call Jaemin. They used to call each other Smiley and Strawberry.”

At this point, even Mark was rendered into a fit of giggles. “When I asked about it, Jeno just said that Jaemin was as sweet as strawberries.”

“Aw, that’s so cute! Is that why Jaemin changed his hair colour?” Haechan gushes.

“Oh, god, you should’ve seen how Jeno reacted when Jaemin showed up with pink hair! He was even redder when Jaemin said he changed it because Doyoung showed him an old letter that Jeno wrote when they were kids.”

“What are you guys giggling about?”

Both Mark and Haechan jumped at the sudden sound. Jaemin eyed them suspiciously as he sat down back on his seat. 

“Nothing!” they yelled in unison.

“You guys are hella shady. I’m gonna leave if you guys don’t ‘fess up,” Jaemin replies, the intimidating voice being softened by his inaction.

“Nothing important,” Mark teases, his eyes glinting with glee, and adds, “Strawberry.”

Jaemin groans, slamming his head to the counter. “You’re never gonna let that go, are you?”

“Nope!” Mark laughs, Haechan instinctively smiling at the sound.

“The more you do that, the more likely it is that I’m gonna leave you guys to suffer on your own.”

“Hey, I wasn’t making fun of you,” Haechan says. Jaemin lifts his head up and glares.

“You’re enabling Mark!”

“How am I enabling Mark?” Haechan questions, his voice equally shrill.

“I don’t know, shut up!” 

“Guys, guys,” Mark interrupts. “Let’s try and study for stat now.”

“He started it,” Haechan mutters underneath his breath, but nonetheless shuts up. The smile on Mark’s face, however, tells him that his words didn’t go unheard.

“Okay, let’s actually get started,” Mark states and opens his book to the chapter he claims that he’s struggling in.

It doesn’t take long after that for the trio to delve into their books. It surprised Mark how keen Haechan was in learning. It wasn’t like the younger was dumb or anything, but there were some topics that Haechan didn’t tackle prior to their subject so Jaemin would patiently go over them.

Despite the events and suspicions, Jaemin proved to be a godsend to Haechan. The terms and topics began to connect and before long, he was solving problems on his own. Haechan got so carried away that he didn’t realize how much time had passed until Jaemin closed his textbook.

“I’ve had enough. I’m going to leave now.”

“What?” Haechan exclaimed, surprised at the seemingly abrupt admission.

“Haechan. It’s literally 7 in the evening. We arrived here around 4:30,” Jaemin deadpans.

Haechan then surveys his surroundings. The brightness of the place seemed to be amplified by the darkness outside. Students were still flowing through the doors, some meeting up for a night out and some stopping by before continuing their drinking spree. 

_ They smell horrible _ , Haechan thinks as one particular tipsy group passed their table. 

As his eyes continue to wander around the room, he eventually lands on Mark.

“Hey, there,” Mark greets, a teasing lilt to his voice.

“Hi,” Haechan flushes at the sudden attention. 

“Oh, god. Please at least let my boyfriend get here before you two start flirting,” Jaemin bemoans, snapping the two back to reality.

“W-We’re not flirting!” “Shut up, Nana!”

“What did Nana do this time?”

“Nono!” Jaemin squeals, standing all too quickly and enveloping the older boy in a hug.

“Missed me much?” Jeno chuckles, wrapping his arms around Jaemin’s waist protectively. Jaemin pulls away far enough to show his best kicked puppy face.

“Yes! All we did was talk about statistics!”

“I thought you loved that subject?” Jeno asks, raising an eyebrow at his boyfriend.

“I do, but I’d rather die than spend another minute burying my head in numbers. I’ve had enough of them for today, thank you very much.”

“Aw, is my Nana tired?” Jeno coos, carding one hand through his boyfriend’s pink locks. Jaemin all but melts at the action.

Haechan couldn’t help but fake gag, Mark snickering in response.

“Real mature guys. Real mature,” Jaemin huffs, moving out of Jeno’s embrace to gather his belongings.

“Just get out of here before I  _ actually  _ vomit,” Haechan pleads, prompting Jeno and Mark to erupt in laughter. Jaemin just smiles and stands beside Jeno, his bag slung on his back.

“We’re gonna take our leave now. See you around, Haechan!” he bids, Jeno calming down enough to wave at Haechan with a big smile on his face.

_ I can see why Jaemin called him Smiley _ .

“Bye, Jeno! Bye Jaemin!” Haechan says, just as energetic.

“Nana,” Jaemin states.

“What?” 

“Call me, Nana.”

Haechan hesitates, all three pairs of eyes staring at him expectantly. “Bye, Nana.”

Jaemin grins with pride. “Better.”

Without another word, Jaemin gives them a salute and drags Jeno out of the shop. Their hands were intertwined as they moved. For a second, Haechan stared at them, a strange feeling of longing rising up.

“Now that they’re gone,” Mark calls out, halting the Haechan’s train of thoughts. “Do you want to go out and eat?”

“Oh, no thanks. I’ll eat back at home,” Haechan rejects, packing up his stuff. By the looks of Mark’s space, it seems that he was the only one seriously studying.

“My treat!” Mark blurts out, surprising both Haechan and himself. Hastily, he adds, “I-It’s fine, if you don’t want to. I just wanted to, uh, talk. Yeah, talk. About the, uh, project! We forgot to talk about the project!”

Haechan giggles, Mark’s cheeks reddening more at the sound. “Well, if you insist.”

They definitely weren’t going to be talking about the project. 

Haechan stands up, his bag on him, and smiles at Mark’s gaping figure. “Shall we then? I’m afraid you’re not as effective as Nana in studying.”

Mark carelessly follows after Haechan. “Do you have anything in mind?”

As the two boys crossed the store, Haechan hums. “Nothing comes to me right now. How about Mcdonalds?”

“It’s like you read my mind.”

Haechan didn’t know what to expect when he was left alone with Mark. They weren’t close enough for him to be considered friends. Today was actually the most they’ve ever talked, and yet, it felt familiar.

_ Guess that’s why he’s my soulmate _ .

“Anything you want?”

Haechan scanned the menu in pretense before answering, “I’ll just have some fries.”

“Is that all?” Mark frowns.

“Yeah, I’m not hungry,” Haechan reassures, offering the boy a wide smile to dispel any other doubts. 

“Alright. I’ll go order. Can you find us a table?” 

Haechan nods and maneuvers his way to a table near the window. There weren’t many people so it was rather easy to secure an area. Unfortunately, if Haechan thought that Starbucks was bad, there were more people in Mcdonald’s reeking of alcohol. The smell of grease and liquor permeated the area. Wistfully, he wishes that Mark was there to overpower the smell.

_ Uh, what? Stop thinking about that _ .

Haechan instead busies himself with his phone. His group chat with Felix, Hyunjin, Jisung and Seungmin were flooded with messages. When one of the messages read,  _ ‘Do you think Channie hyung will notice it if I swap the water with vodka during the pack meeting?’ _ , he didn’t bother to open the chat.

Instead he opens up Suho’s message and updates him about his whereabouts. It was constant at this point. Every day Suho would ask him about his day and tell Haechan about his plans. In return, Haechan would reply at night after his day was over and continue chatting with the leader once Suho was done with his work.

_ Busy then _ , Haechan thinks after receiving no reply. He looks up from his phone, having nothing left to do, and spots Mark looking around with squinted eyes.

_ The idiot isn’t wearing glasses _ .

Haechan watches on in amusement for a few more seconds before taking pity on the lost boy.

“Mark!” he shouts, waving his arm just to be sure. 

Upon hearing his name, Mark looks at Haechan and smiles. He happily makes his way over to the table and carefully puts the tray down.

“You have no idea how long I was standing there looking for you.”

Haechan giggles, “I can imagine.”

Mark smiles cutely and gives Haechan his fries. It was only then did the younger boy realize the amount of food that Mark bought. There was a 20 piece chicken nugget box and a big mac, two large orange juices complementing its sides on the tray.

“Woah, are you that hungry?” Haechan exclaims, staring at Mark astounded.

“Oh, uh, yeah,” Mark shlyly says. 

“W-Well, I think I overestimated just how much I can eat, s-so help me?” he continues, looking at Haechan with an almost pleading face. It was clear to anyone that the older boy was lying. 

But Mark was adorable. Haechan was weak towards adorable things.  _ I fully blame Minjun for this weakness _ .

“Sure, hyung.”

Mark smiles and not so subtly passes Haechan one of the orange juices. As they begin to dig in, they fall into easy conversation. Mark talked about his pack and anecdotes from his childhood while Haechan recounts his stories with Stray Kids. Frankly, he didn’t have much to say since he was more focused on school than friends, but Mark didn’t seem to mind.

When Mark speaks, there is a tinge of fondness and love. A slight ache of envy and want crept up Haechan’s chest.  _ Must be a nice pack _ .

From what Haechan could gather, Mark was beloved by everyone. And who wouldn’t? When Mark looks and talks with such joy, it wasn’t hard for someone to fall in love with the boy. Only then did Haechan realize how futile it was to avoid the inevitable.

_ I’m bound to love this boy _ .

The revelation, remarkably, didn’t phase Haechan. It just made sense. He’ll deal with his thoughts later on when he’s alone, but right now, he’ll just focus on Mark and the giddy feelings he brings.

“Holy shit, it’s half past ten now.”

Haechan blinks. “No way. Last time I checked it was almost 8!”

“I know right!” Mark laughs in agreement. “We’ve been losing track of time a lot today, haven’t we?”

“I blame you,” Haechan replies, sticking his tongue out. In return, Mark plasters a mock look of offense.

“You’re the distracting one!” 

“Come on, big boy. Let’s clean up and leave,” Haechan appeases, gathering their garbage on the tray. He then stands up and walks over the trashcan and properly disposes of the items, Mark grumbling behind him.

“Your bag,” Mark mutters, handing over the luggage. 

“Why, thank you, good sir.”

Once they got out of the establishment, both Mark and Haechan lingered near the entrance, each unsure of what to do next.

“Where do you live?” Mark asks. The light of the McDonalds illuminating his face in the most unflattering way. Still, Haechan has never seen someone as beautiful.

“Oh, I’m staying in Dream.”

“I’ll walk you there.”

“What? No, it’s fine Mark. I’m an alpha. I can handle this,” Haechan brushes off, annoyance prickling his skin at the thought of being seen as weak.

“Alpha or not, you can still get hurt,” Mark replies resolutely. 

“Still, I’m fine. It’s only a twenty minute walk. You probably live further than me.”

“I do. I stay in the 127 district.”

“See! You need to catch the train for that!”

Mark just shakes his head. “It’s fine. Jeno and Jaemin are still out. Doyoung, Jeno’s dad, is picking them up by 11:30. I’m riding with them.”

“Then shouldn’t you be somewhere safer than walking me?” Haechan challenges.

“Yeah, I guess. But I bet you’re building is safer than loitering around a freaking McDonalds where drunk people are trying to sober up.”

_ He has a point there _ .

“Anyways, let’s go. We’ve stalled long enough,” Mark says, grabbing the crook of Haechan’s elbow towards the direction of the Dream building.

“Stubborn alpha,” Haechan mutters once Mark lets go. A tinge of disappointment rang through his head at the loss of warmth.

“I could say the same to you,” Mark grins. 

There was something about the night time in Seoul that made Haechan quiet. The streets were bustling with life as students, drunk and sober alike, passed by one another, all trying to get to their own destination. Though it was hectic in nature, something about being one out of the, seemingly, millions of people, calmed him down. It felt like no one was watching or judging him. He could be anyone he wanted to be.

“‘Eyo, Mark!” someone yelled out as they passed by one of the bars along the street.

“Rocky, hey!” Mark enthusiastically greets. He looks back at Haechan and says, “I’ll just greet them for a bit. Is that okay?”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

“I won’t be gone too long, promise,” Mark grins and jogs over to ‘Rocky’ and his group. They greet him with cheers and smiles.

Haechan wasn’t much of a party person. Alcohol, as he and his fellow omegas learned, is an instigator for bad behaviour. Jihyun noon always warned them that when an alpha or a beta comes home reeking of booze, it was safe to remain out of sight and mask their scent. Instinctively, he did just that.

He walked over to a wall, trying his best to seem as invisible as possible and began masking his scent. When the scent of antibiotics and chocolate still remained, it frustrated him. He couldn’t hide the artificial smell that emanated from the choker.  _ It only worked on natural scents. _

“What’s a pretty young alpha like you doing here by yourself?” 

The stench of liquor mixed with the scent of moss and petrichor invades his space. The person was a few inches taller than Haechan. A greasy smile and hungry eyes greeted him.

This person was a beta, and he was drunkenly horny.

Familiarity washed over Haechan. He knows what’s gonna happen next. 

“Make an old beta happy, eh?” the stranger whispers in his ear, a hand trailing across the expanse of Haechan’s chest.

With eyes closed, Haechan willed himself to imagine his happy place. He was back in the omega room. Minjun was cuddling with him while Jihyun continues to playfully scold them about sleeping in. 

It was simple, but it was his go-to imagination. So it surprises him when he imagines Mark entering the room. The smell of cedarwood and lavender flooded the area, prompting both Minjun and Jihyun to grin at Haechan teasingly. 

The feeling of a tongue sucking on Haechan’s neck barely registered to him. Not when fake Mark moved over to Haechan’s bed and lovingly stroked his head.

“God, you’re so hot,” the beta lustfully whispers, the hand on his chest now sliding over to his southern regions. 

Distinctly, Haechan could hear footsteps walking over. 

_ There’s more of them _ , he thinks, mentally preparing himself for what’s about to happen. Haechan held his breath as the feeling of another person neared. Instead of another groping hand however, a loud smack was heard. The warmth of the bodies disappearing.

Confused, Haechan opened his eyes and was met with a battered beta and a raging alpha.

“Don’t you  _ fucking _ touch Haechan again,” the alpha growls, scaring the poor guy off of his feet. Pitifully, the invader scrambles out of sight.

The smell of weathered wood and rotten flowers suddenly became evident. The steaming alpha turns to look at Haechan. His fear seemed to multiply at the sight of glowing red eyes.

“Haechan,” the alpha softly says, his eyes shifting back to normal, now only left with flickers of red. “Are you okay?”

Haechan belatedly realizes that the alpha was Mark. His scent was tainted with barely contained anger. The concerned look that plastered his features were enough to spur Haechan into action. He didn’t like the look on Mark’s face.

“I’m fine. Are you done talking with your friends?”

“What? Uh, yeah. I am,” Mark sputters. Out of all the reactions he was expecting, this was certainly not on his list.

“Good. Let’s go,” Haechan says before walking towards the direction of his condo. Mark was left to gape at the retreating figure. When he got back to his senses, he quickly ran to catch up.

“Haechan, are you okay? You don’t have to pretend like you’re not.”

“I’m fine, hyung. What happened, happened,” Haechan answers, refusing to meet Mark’s concerned gaze.

“But-But he touched you!”

“He did,” Haechan affirms, his steps quickening at the sight of the Dream building. “But I didn’t push him away.”

“You were scared! He took advantage of you!” Mark replied, his voice rising in frustration. Why couldn’t Haechan see the problem?

“He did,” Haechan states softly, his mind unwillingly going back to the past few years of his life. 

At a loss of what to do, Mark could only observe the younger for any sign of emotion. He so badly wanted to reach out and gather Haechan in his arms, just like what his parents do when he’s scared, and whisper reassurances. But after what transpired a few moments prior, Mark wasn’t sure the younger wanted to be touched for a while.

All too soon, they were standing in front of the building.

“I’m sorry,” Mark blurts out, not knowing what else to say. The younger seemed to wish no words of comfort, so he settles for an apology. “I-I shouldn’t’ve left you. If I didn’t then none of this would’ve happened. I’m-”

A warm embrace cut him off. Astonished by the sudden action, Mark could only dumbly stare at the top of Haechan’s head.

“Don’t be,” the smaller boy whispers.

Haechan pulled away far enough to stare at Mark’s befuddled expression. “You saved me before anything happened. No one has ever done that before.”

Before Mark could process the statement, Haechan was letting go. 

“Thank you, Mark.”

And just like that, he was gone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was a MASSIVE chapter jdkfsjd I didn't expect it to go for this long I'm sorry
> 
> but!! here it is! constructive criticism is appreciated <3


	5. Take A Gander

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Mark asks, Donghyuck gives in.

When he got to his place last night it took him a couple more hours before sleep overtook him. He was reeling from the events that transpired that day. So many things occurred and he needed time to process.

First, he thought of Jaemin. The boy had been suspicious of him since the very beginning and after that mess of a walk, he knows. He _knows_ that Donghyuck was not the person he says he is and that there’s some sort of connection with him and Mark’s soulmate.

_I probably shouldn’t’ve admitted anything. You blubbering idiot! Now you've exposed us to your soulmate’s packmate! Good job._

Donghyuck groans and eyes the haphazardly thrown choker in frustration. If only he died that day, he wouldn’t’ve to be faced in this predicament. Sure he wouldn’t have known Exo and Stray Kids, but they have been doing great even before he came into the picture.

Nothing would be lost, really. 

_Minjun should’ve been the one to live._

Unconsciously, Donghyuck’s mind began to wander and conjure up a world where Minjun was alive and well. The younger always had an interest in the Sciences (one of his weakest subjects but he tried) and would’ve been so successful. He would have been the kindest, most beautiful and amazing boy in the field.

Minjun used to call him Donghyuck since in the boy’s words, he “always made everyone feel warm” when in reality, it was Minjun that gave those feelings. He was the reason Donghyuck chose to stay alive despite the constant hurt and violence. 

_His soulmate would’ve been so happy_ , he couldn’t help but cynically think, as the image of a certain black-haired alpha with the most charming smile invaded his mind.

‘ _No one has ever done that before.’_

Donghyuck whines and wriggles around his bed as the realization of his words sunk in. 

_Way to fucking go, Donghyuck. Now, Jaemin_ **_and_ ** _Mark know something’s up_. 

He rubbed his hands on his face in irritation. The hangout was a complete mess. It hasn’t even been a whole day and yet, Mark and Jaemin have already begun to chip away and take a glance at the past he’s desperately trying to bury.

It scares him. 

Jisung and the other Stray Kids members, despite the occasional question about his past, only knew what Donghyuck wanted them to know. He had successfully avoided the queries by joking his way out of it, but then in comes Mark with his alluring smile and adorable personality, and then suddenly it comes crashing down.

_This whole soulmate thing is dumb. How dare the universe do this to him?_ **_Why_ ** _did this have to happen? Why couldn’t he just have been left alone?_

Grumbling, Donghyuck wraps the sheets closer around his body. In retaliation to his ongoing breakdown, his mind wanders off into a self-deprecating train of thought. 

He is an omega - a filthy used omega. Unwanted touches and mouths plague his skin, tainting each part of him with scum that cannot be cleansed. Donghyuck was infested. Darkness and misfortune shrouded him, repelling all things bright and good.

Mark is good.

The alpha needs a good person, someone who can bring him joy and excitement while also providing the promise of a home to come back to. Mark deserved someone pure and beautiful.

He could feel his eyelids droop as sleep’s embrace continuously grasped at him, enticing him to succumb to exhaustion.

_Mark won’t know_ , Donghyuck drowsily vows to himself. The stillness of the night finally lulling him to sleep.

  
  


Donghyuck was still tired when he woke up the next day. Tiredness still weighed him down and pulled him back into the comforting warmth of his bed. It took him a couple more moments to realize the incessant buzzing that disrupted the peaceful atmosphere of the room.

Sluggishly, he rolls off his bed and crudely lands on the floor. He idly maneuvers around the clothes he had aimlessly thrown until he finally reaches the device. 

“Hello?” he languidly greets, not bothering to check the caller ID.

“Lee Donghyuck! Why weren’t you answering my texts and calls?!”

Donghyuck pulls his phone away for a bit, cringing at the volume. Faint sounds of nagging chatter could still be heard. When he was sure that the voice had quieted down, he put it back to his ear.

“Hyung, I’m sorry,” he pouts, hoping that the older would forgive him. Suho was always weak towards his charms anyway.

The leader sighs, “Hyuck-ah, you _know_ I’m worried about you.”

“I know, hyung, but I’m fine. I promise. I just fell asleep and forgot.”

“Bullshit. You texted me at around 7 last night. If you were going to sleep then you would’ve told me.”

Donghyuck whispers a curse underneath his breath. Damn Suho and his perceptive nature. 

“It’s fine, hyung. Really. I just...I just needed some time to process things.”

“What kind of things?”

Donghyuck glances at the choker strewn in with his clothes. “Emotions.”

Suho makes a noise of understanding. “Ah, yes. Emotions - the bane of many people’s existence.”

“How do you do it, hyung?”

“Do what?”

“How do you deal with it all? Ever since I began attending college I’ve felt things that I never did before and it’s terrifying,” Donghyuck admits, curling upon himself as he hopefully wishes for an answer.

“Well,” Suho pauses, “I think it’s different for everyone.”

“I think that some people take more time than others to fully understand how they feel and what to do about it. Other people, however, quickly recognize what they’re feeling and act on it immediately. But,” Suho stops, inhaling sharply.

“You don’t have to go through it alone.”

Something about the tone in the older’s voice made Donghyuck uncomfortable. It was as if he was naked and Suho, despite being god knows where is able to see right through him.

“It helps to talk to other people about whatever is happening, especially if you’re the type of person to stew in your own thoughts until it becomes damaging. Sometimes… all you need is someone to listen and reassure you.”

Donghyuck gulps feeling oddly choked up. “O-Oh. Thanks for the advice, hyung.”

“It’s nothing,” Suho dismisses nonchalantly, but Donghyuck knew better. The smug alpha was probably smiling.

“Anyways,” the leader says after a beat of silence, “since _someone_ wasn’t responding to my texts. I’d like you to know that me, Baekhyun, and Kai are gonna have a meeting with one of the other packs near your school this week.”

Excitement flickered in his chest. _Cool. Play it cool._

“And? What do you want me to do?”

He could practically feel the other roll their eyes. “You want to meet up?”

“Hmm,” Donghyuck pretends to think. “I think I can make time.”

“You brat,” Suho retorts. “How does next Friday sound?”

Donghyuck shivers. Friday doesn’t sound like a good day. “How about Saturday?”

“Saturday is our meeting.”

“You won’t be meeting the whole day, right? We can have dinner or something.”

“Fine,” Suho complies. “I’ll text you about the time.”

Donghyuck nods, “Yes, hyung.”

“I’ll see you then.”

“Don’t miss me too much,” Donghyuck teases. The protests of the other went unheard as the omega giddily hung up.

Donghyuck was ecstatic. It’s been more than a year since he’s seen any of the Exo members. Sure he and Suho text a lot, sometimes he even receives a relevant meme or two from Chanyeol or Baekhyun, but it would be nice to see them again.

The sound of his phone pinging interrupted his thoughts.

Cheerfully, Donghyuck opens the lock screen of his phone, fully expecting to see another nagging text/s from Suho, but it wasn’t.

The smile on his face fell as he re-read the message.

  
  


From: Unknown

To: Haechan

[Sent: 11:17am]

Haechan? Are you awake?

I know you don’t want to talk about yesterday but

I’m here for you, okay? 

If you need someone to talk to, I’m here

  
  


A weird mix of comfort and dread flooded Donghyuck. _Fuck. Mark won’t let this one go._

Before Donghyuck could think any further, his stomach grumbled aloud. 

_Later. I’ll think about this later. For now, food_ , Donghyuck thinks as he begrudgingly stands up and makes his way to the kitchen area. The thought of having another sandwich only slightly makes him disappointed, but then who was he to complain. He was lucky enough as it is.

-

It’s safe to say that the rest of the weekend was spent mulling over his eventual interaction with the two alphas. It wasn’t like Donghyuck could avoid them, they were in his stat class after all.

Briefly, Donghyuck entertained the thought of cutting, but he was already struggling with the class and he _really_ wanted to graduate in time. He didn’t want to waste any more money that wasn’t his.

_Maybe if I fake a rut_ , he thinks, feeling a bit hopeful at the thought until the logical part of his brain hissed. _Stupid what happens if you actually get your heat? What are you gonna do then?_

Eventually, he was only left with one plausible choice. _I’m just gonna act like nothing happened._

Mind-blowing, I know.

To take precautions, Donghyuck pulled out a small purple notebook. It was one of his most secretive belongings since it was where he recorded his heats (he didn’t trust his phone to know about his cycle, Baekhyun told him about how people can get information from the device) and various information that could help him catch up with today’s society. He flipped the pages of the worn-out notebook and began to write.

Step 1: Don’t let Mark get you alone. He’ll only probe.

Step 2: Make sure to act busy. It gives you an excuse to deflect his questions.

Step 3: Don’t look at Mark. You’re going to cave.

Was the list unnecessary and dramatic? Of course, it was. He always had an affinity with theatrics after all. The past few days have been a whirl of emotions and have had Donghyuck feeling like a mess, but writing it down grounded him.

Emotions, he discovers, are what make the world complicated. It overwhelms people and leaves them more confused than they were before, which is why it’s so important for him to remain rational. He had to live for the fallen.

_See, hyung. I can do this emotions thing alone_.

-

When Monday came around, Haechan was resolved in his decisions. He only had Statistics every Tuesday’s and Thursday’s so he wasn’t overly anxious about running into any of the NCT guys. It didn’t stop him from taking precautions though.

“What do you mean you’re busy this week? Do we have a paper?” Jisung asks, complaining instantly once they were dismissed from one of their general subjects.

“We always have a paper, Jisung. Keep up,” Haechan playfully retorts. They were currently descending the stairs from their third-floor classroom, so Jisung still had time to interrogate him. Might as well stall for time.

“Okay, fair. But still! It didn’t stop you before!”

“I’m kinda swamped with more research. Remember the job that I told you about?” Haechan asks. When Jisung nodded, he continued.

“Things have been busy lately so they asked me for more additional research. I want to finish it by this week so that it won’t distract me longer than it should.”

Technically, it wasn’t a lie. Suho did give him more topics to research on (totally not because he practically begged him for more work), and it would be a hassle to procrastinate. Midterms were only three weeks away.

“Fine,” Jisung sighs. They have reached the first floor of the building and secured a spot near a wall to avoid causing foot traffic. “But you better be eating. You’re too skinny.”

Haechan rolls his eyes, a smile creeping upon his face. “Yes, mom. Have fun with the kids without me.”

Jisung smacks Haechan's arm. “You know Hyunjin and Felix don’t like being called that!”

Haechan only laughs and waves, “Bye Jisung!”

The other boy simply flipped him off and grumbled, walking off towards the cafeteria. With one last grin, Haechan turned and made his way to the study hall near the Business building. Sure, Mark was probably somewhere near the area but based on what he knows about the alpha, he wasn’t likely to hang around that particular space.

Just as he thought, Haechan managed to not run into either Mark or Jaemin for the whole day. It was a full proof plan. So when Tuesday came and had Haechan sitting beside Mark, the tension between the two was palpable.

As soon as they were dismissed, Haechan quickly bolted out of the room. He ignored Mark’s plea to wait and all but ran out of there, completely missing the way Jaemin stared at the interaction with a raised brow.

That night, Mark texted again. (He still refused to add him to the contacts.)

From: Unknown

To: Haechan

[Sent: 19:00pm]

Haechan, can we talk? Please?

  
  


_No. Don’t reply. Don’t give in_.

He kept himself busy with research. He had approximately 7 research papers to do for Suho, 3 of them already done and ready for sending, and 2 major papers for school. He didn’t know how long it’s been until he heard another notification come from his phone.

From: Unknown

To: Haechan

[Sent: 19:30pm]

I know you don’t want to talk about it, but you need to

You don’t have to hide and pretend like it’s fine

What happened to you was scary

Sigh

You’re not gonna respond, are you?

Just…

Please just tell me you’re okay

That you’re eating and sleeping well

  
  


Donghyuck stares at the messages for a bit, the lump on his throat not allowing him to speak. _Why am I getting so emotional, what the fuck?_

Not liking the sudden influx of sentimentality, Donghyuck closed his phone and threw himself into his papers. He worked until his eyes started to strain from the screen of the laptop that Suho bought him. He glanced at the time and saw that it was nearing 3am. 

He had forgotten to eat dinner and his stomach was angrily reminding him of the fact. Not feeling up to it, Donghyuck simply closed the laptop and flopped in the comforts of his bed. Lazily, he pulled himself towards the edge of his bed, blindly groped for the charger of his phone, and tried to connect it to the outlet. It was quite a feat honestly since the other outlet was already occupied by his choker and its charger.

Once his phone was connected, his lock screen flashed open, reminding him of the messages he left unanswered. Quickly, he replied to Suho’s messages, not wanting another scolding from the other, and was about to leave it at that.

But then he found himself hovering over his chat with Mark.

Donghyuck fully blames it on his sleep-deprived, hungry state for what happens next. 

  
  


From: Haechan

To: Unkown

[Sent: 2:53am]

Stop worrying, Mark

I’m fine

  
  
  


The next days after that, he tried even harder to limit his interactions with Mark. After Donghyuck had replied, Mark became even more adamant to talk to him, even going as far as to ask Jisung and Felix about his whereabouts. Thankfully, they didn’t question it much and just answered the library. 

Mark’s insistence kinda terrified Donghyuck. He even went as far as skipping stat on Thursday due to the knowledge that the other boy was there and was ready to pounce on him with questions. _Grades be damned._

It was Friday now and he was currently back in the Business building, slaving away on the last research topic for Suho. His last class was suddenly canceled, the professor not being able to make it due to some reasons, so he decided to use that time to work. It was always easier for him to work in school than at home.

_Just finish this paper, Donghyuck. You’ll be home in no time. And, before you know it, you’re going to be meeting the Exo hyungs again! Man, I can’t wait for Suho hyung to go crazy while me and Baekhyun hyung play around. Kai hyung will just laugh and make things worse_.

Donghyuck giggles at the mental image, suddenly feeling motivated to power through the last tidbit of information and conclusion. As he was finishing up his last paragraph, an eerily familiar scent reached his senses.

Before he could scramble away, a hand was rested on his shoulder, stopping from going anywhere.

“Haechan, please.”

His flight and fight responses melted away. The tone on the elder’s voice was enough for him to resign to his fate. Mark sat across him, his gaze burning Haechan's face. 

“Why are you avoiding me?”

_Right to the point, I see_.

“You’re gonna want me to talk about it and I don’t want to,” Haechan replies curtly, still keeping his eyes on his laptop. The study on the most bought goods in Seoul remains a flurried haze of words and numbers.

Mark sighs. “I won’t force you to talk, Haechan. Not today.”

Haechan looks up and stares inquisitively at Mark. “But eventually?”

“Of course. You know me,” Mark grins, prompting a small amused smile from the younger.

“Stubborn alpha,” Donghyuc mutters, his eyes fleeting back to his screen in amusement. He could practically feel Mark’s blinding aura.

“I could say the same to you.”

After their conversation, silence enveloped them. And just like that, everything was fine. Mark wasn’t mad at him and Haechan had stopped trying to run away. 

Haechan fully expected Mark to leave after a while but was surprised when the other merely pulled out his phone and stayed. By the time it was 4, Haechan began to pack up, catching Mark’s attention. 

His eyes moved from the device on his hand to Donghyuck. “Are we leaving now?”

“I guess we are,” Haechan says, actively overlooking the way his heartbeat thundered at the statement.

“How’d you even find me here?” he asks as they walk towards the door. He was sure that his plan wouldn’t fail.

When they got out of the hall, Mark answered, “Honestly, it was hard. It seemed like the ones who knew you were from the school of social sciences so they didn’t see you here. Thankfully, Rocky - do you remember him? He was the one I said hi to at the bar - went here with Moonbin and Eunwoo, and recognized you.”

Haechan nods in understanding. They were outside the business building, he turned to look at Mark.

“That’s good. Well, uh, I’m gonna head back home now.”

“Are you free tomorrow?” Mark blurts out before Haechan could leave. 

At Haechan's startled expression, Mark hurriedly explains, “I feel bad about how our last hang out ended and I want to make it up to you.”

“Mark, you don’t have to,” Haechan replies softly, his eyes filled with fondness. _This alpha really is too much_.

“I know, but I want to! We can hang out at our place so that it’s safer. Heck, we can even hang out in yours!”

“No!” Haechan exclaims surprising Mark with the loudness in his voice. “Not my place. It’s small and a mess, I don’t want you to go there and see how chaotic it is.”

“But your place? Mark, isn’t that too much?” Haechan proclaims in disbelief. Traditionally, bringing a stranger into a pack’s territory means only two things - marriage or war.

“Huh? Why would that be weird?” Mark asks confusion plastered on his face until realization sets in. 

“Ohhhh, oh! Oh no! I don’t mean like that! Our pack doesn’t really mind that stuff. I mean, Jeno always invited Jaemin over.”

“But they’re soulmates!” the “alpha” exclaims, his face blushing red at the thought of being brought to Mark’s place.

“You’re blushing! Oh my gosh!” Mark laughs, further deepening the colour in the younger’s cheeks.

“Shut up! I used to be in a conservative pack! I’m not used to this!” Haechan blurts, immediately putting a hand over his mouth as he realized what he had done. Thankfully, Mark didn’t seem to hear since he was too busy busting his lungs.

“It’s okay, Haechan-ie. You’ll be fine at home,” Mark reassures once he’s calmed down.

“I didn’t even say yes yet,” Haechan retorts despite knowing damn well he would agree. It was always a losing battle when it came to arguing with Mark.

“I know, I know, I’m sorry,” Mark pauses before fixing the other with a pleading gaze. “Will you come to our place and hang out tomorrow?”

_Damn you, Mark._

“Fine.”

The look in Mark’s face changes into one of joy. “Great! How does lunchtime sound?”

“I don’t mind. As long as it doesn’t extend to dinner, I’m free.”

“Nice! I’ll text you the address!” 

Haechan smiles, “Okay. Well, I’ll get going now.”

“You want me to walk you home?”

“Mark, I’ll be fine. It’s not night time and there aren’t many drunk people out right now.”

“Still!” Mark presses. “I insist.”

Haechan rolls his eyes, resisting the urge to say ‘ _Stubborn alpha’_ once again. “Okay, _fine_. Let’s go then. I miss my bed.”

“Sheesh, so demanding,” Mark mutters, but nonetheless begins walking, Haechan right by his side.

“So, anything I need to know about your pack before I meet them?” Haechan asks before a sudden thought comes to mind. “Wait, is everyone going to be there? Will you guys be holding a pack meeting? Am I even allowed?”

“Haechan, _breathe_ ,” Mark says, amused by the frantic state of his friend. “Not everyone will be there. There’s some big business thing happening tomorrow so only a few people will be there, mostly the kids and some adults. And besides, our pack meetings are on Sundays, so you’re good.”

“Okay, great. Less pressure,” Haechan responds, relief flooding his demeanor.

Mark just raises an eyebrow. “Pressure? Dude, my pack is like, full of teddy bears. They’re literally as scary as Peppa pig!”

Images of the creepy and borderline terrifying edits that Baekhyun and Chanyeol made him watch of the cartoon character had Haechan thinking otherwise.

“No, _dude_ , I don’t think you understand how intimidating your pack seems!”

“Well, how do _you_ see them then, huh?” Mark challenges.

“Hmmm,” Haechan thinks for a moment, trying to remember what Jisung and the others told him. 

“Well, it seems like you guys are pretty well known among the other packs - at least Felix says so - and you guys kinda just hang out with each other most of the time. I mean, yeah it’s normal for pack members to stick together, but it almost looks like you guys _weirdly_ stick together, yanno?”

“So? Since we like each other’s company, we’re suddenly scary?”

“I mean, yeah. We don’t know much about you guys personally and you only stay with each other so it’s kinda scary not knowing who someone is.”

“I guess that’s fair, then,” Mark hums in agreement. “But by logic, shouldn’t you be more terrifying than us?”

At that, Haechan looks over at Mark. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you’re a lone wolf, right? And you only hang out with Jisung, Felix and Hyunjin. Not a lot of people know who you are. I’m not even sure if those that do know you, _actually_ know you.”

A flash of fear struck Donghyuck. _Did Nana say something?_

“What makes you say that?”

Mark shrugs. “I don’t know, just a feeling.”

“A feeling?” Haechan snorts, hoping that his voice didn’t come out as shaky as he felt.

“Yeah,” Mark replies nonchalantly. Something comes to mind, however, and he teasingly adds, “That or maybe I just really want to know you better.”

Haechan barks out a laugh and lightly pushes Mark. “You fucking flirt! I’m so sorry to whoever your soulmate is.”

“Right. My soulmate,” Mark mutters under his breath, the crestfallen look on his face went unnoticed by the other.

“We’re here,” Haechan announces, snapping Mark of his thoughts.

“Oh, nice. See you tomorrow?” Mark says.

“I already said yes, Mark. I’m not backing out now.”

“Haha, yeah,” Mark sheepishly answers. “Go on, then. Go back to your bed.”

Haechan laughs and salutes. “Yes, sir! I’ll be taking my leave then.”

Mark watches Haechan's retreating figure, making sure he was safe in the elevator before he left. The scolding he got later on from Jaemin and Doyoung about his late attendance didn’t even phase him one bit.

-

Saturday came and Donghyuck was nervous. 

He had gone out last night, at around six in the evening, to buy some supplies, fully intending to try his hand at baking. He would rather die than to meet Mark’s pack empty-handed.

It was 7 am and Donghyuck was watching baking videos on youtube for a simple chocolate chip cookie recipe. After scavenging for what he deems the perfect recipe, he surprisingly began to enjoy himself in the process. It did take him longer than expected to make, but he managed to make five dozen batches of cookies. 

_And on my first time_ , Donghyuck proudly gloats as he stares at the product of his labour.

By the time he finished packaging the cookies and cleaning the space, it was already 10 am. Not really feeling hungry, Donghyuck decided to take a shower instead. 

He really wanted to impress Mark’s pack. It was his first time entering another’s pack’s territory, and he didn’t want to take the invitation for granted.

So after his shower, he rummaged his closet for something to wear. He didn’t really have much. Most of the clothes he had were plain shirts, hoodies, and pants. When Donghyuck chose them, Kai was flabbergasted and demanded to add some “fancy” pieces (honestly they were just polo shirts, dress pants, and dress shoes).

Not wanting to look too dressed up, Donghyuck chose to wear some nicely fitted pants, a black polyester polo shirt, and some black converse. Okay, so he likes wearing black a bit too much, sue him. In his own humble opinion, the colour made him look good.

Once he wore his chosen outfit, he looked at himself in the mirror. He may not know much about fashion but he believes that he looks nice. _Cute, even!_

He carefully clasps the forgotten choker back on his neck and makes sure nothing was left plugged. Armed with his phone and a fanny pack filled with his wallet and house keys, he left the bedroom and made his way back to the kitchen. The bag of packaged cookies sitting nicely on top of his counter.

Just as he was supposed to grab the bag and head out, his phone buzzed.

From: Unknown

To: Haechan

[Sent: 11:03am]

Haechan!

I forgot to tell you but uh

We’re picking you up!

Haechan’s eyes widened at the text and quickly opened the chat, typing out a reply.

From: Haechan

To: Unknown

[Sent: 11:04pm]

WHAT

MARK, WTF

WHY DIDNT YOU TELL ME

IS THIS WHY YOU DIDNT TEXT ME UR ADRESS

From: Unknown

To: Haechan

[Sent: 11:05pm]

IM SORRY OKAY

Johnny hyung insisted!!

I couldn’t say no! D:

Haechan sighs, one hand pinching the bridge of his nose. Mark really was going to be the death of him.

From: Haechan

To: Unknown

[Sent: 11:06pm]

You’re lucky you’re cute

How far are you guys anyway?

  
  


From: Unknown

To: Haechan

[Sent: 11:06pm]

About that…

We’re kinda 

Already

In front of your building?

:’D

  
  


Haechan heaves another sigh. 

  
  


From: Haechan

To: Unknown

[Sent: 11:07pm]

I’ll be down in a minute

  
  


From: Unknown

To: Haechan

[Sent: 11:07pm]

Yay! 

I’m just standing outside to the left of your building!

  
  


Donghyuck scans his room one more time and then lifts the bag from the counter. _Seems to be it. Let’s go._

True to his word, Mark was waiting for him. He was dressed in a gray hoodie, a striped Adidas track pants, and those same thin circular glasses. In short, Donghyuck was about to combust at the sight of the adorable boy waiting for him.

“You look good,” Mark says in lieu of a greeting, unashamedly checking the younger’s outfit.

“Thanks, I dressed myself,” Haechan replies cheekily, twirling around for added effect. 

“Come on, Johnny hyung can’t wait to meet you.”

Haechan nods and follows Mark to a black car. Mark opens the car, motioning for Haechan to enter first.

“After you, milady,” he says with a fake posh accent.

Haechan giggles airily and curtseys. “Why thank you, kind sir.”

He enters the car and shuffles out of the way when Mark follows suit. They were still both giggling, Haechan vaguely aware of the two other scents in the car. Once they’ve settled down, Mark introduces them.

“Johnny hyung, Ten hyung, this is Haechan. Haechan, this is Johnny hyung,” Mark says pointing to the tall alpha in the driver’s seat.

“And this is Ten hyung,” he continues, pointing to the small, almost fairy-like omega in the passenger’s seat.

Haechan offers them a polite smile and slightly bows, “Nice to meet you.”

“Johnny hyung and Ten hyung are married and are appa’s second in command. They help handle the business and the pack.”

Haechan tilts his head and whispers to Mark, “Why do you call them hyung then?”

Apparently, he didn’t whisper low enough because the two adults burst out in laughter. Ten looks at him in amusement and answers, “We don’t like being reminded of how old we are so we ask the kids to call us hyungs.”

“Chenle and Jisung though like to rebel and call us hal-abeoji though,” Johnny adds and sighs, “Those brats.”

“Anyways, are those cookies I smell in your bag?” Ten asks as Johnny finally begins to pull away from their spot.

Donghyuck, startled at the sudden question, only stutters, “Y-yes.”

“Aw, thank you. That’s really sweet of you,” the older omega replies, flashing Haechan a smile before turning his attention back on the road.

“You didn’t have to, you know,” Mark says, eyeing the bag of cookies.

“I know, but I wanted to,” Haechan replies, looking at Mark with a glint in his eyes. _Now you know what it feels like, suckah._

Mark grins knowingly. Their little moment was interrupted however, when Johnny’s voice boomed throughout the vehicle.

“So Haechan, what course are you in?”

Haechan blinks and meets the alpha’s eyes through the rearview mirror. “I’m in Political Science.”

He sees Johnny’s eyes flicker with delight and continues, “What made you choose that?”

“Oh, uh,” Haechan hesitates. He’s never openly spoken about his motivations before and he wasn’t sure if his omega centered mindset would be accepted or looked down. Mark places a hand on his thigh and squeezes, silently encouraging the younger to continue.

“I want to be a lawyer that protects omegas and their rights.”

Ten all but twists his body towards Donghyuck. A look of admiration, pride and curiosity was plastered on his face. He didn’t say anything and merely observed, causing Haechan fidgeted in his seat. If Jaemin made him feel watched, Ten made him feel seen.

“Hyung, you’re making him uncomfortable,” Mark whines, removing his hand on Haechan's thigh to swat at the back of Ten’s seat.

It was then that Ten seemed to spot something because, for a while, his eyes lingered somewhere in his body. “I’m only staring at your friend, Markie. You never bring them home.”

“Yeah! But it doesn’t mean you should gawk at him!”

Ten’s eyes flicker back on Haechan's face to meet his eyes, a question lingered in the older’s gaze. Haechan couldn’t decipher it.

“Well, then you should tell Chenle and Jisung to back off. They have a whole interrogation room prepared for Haechan here.”

Haechan hears Mark curse. Ten finally turns his attention back to the front, letting the frightened boy breathe a sigh of relief. Having nothing else to do, Haechan turns to look at Mark and sees the other furiously typing on his phone.

“What are you doing?” he asks, nearing Mark’s space to glance at the other’s phone. Mark unconsciously moves his phone closer to Haechan and begins ranting.

“I swear those two are the spawns of Satan. Jeno and Jaemin are in denial of it and allow them to do as they please! And Renjun! You’d think that Renjun would be the nice one but he just looks at the chaos and _laughs_!”

Mark despite his words, talked with such passion. Haechan could only stare at him affectionately. It was always nice seeing Mark speak animatedly about something.

“We’re here,” Johnny declares, effectively pulling Haechan's attention from Mark and to the window. The building that they were pulling into was tall and expensive looking. He kept his eyes peeled open as the car entered the parking lot. Surprisingly, it was underneath the building.

He looked around in fascination as they were plunged into darkness, the only sources of light were the fluorescent lights littered along the building. It was a long, winding drive down and it almost felt like Haechan had stepped into an alternate world. He had never seen a place like this before. Even back with Exo, the parking lot was above ground.

Sooner or later, Johnny parked in a spot that had been reserved for Johnny Seo after an accommodating employee removed the sign for them. When they got out of the car, Johnny and Ten greeted the guy warmly and even exchanged pleasantries. Awkwardly, Haechan hovered around Mark who seemed to enjoy listening in on the conversation.

The two adults finally bid goodbye to the lovely man and made their way to the elevators. Ten pulls out a card from his wallet and places it on the scanner near the floor buttons. A beep sounded, signaling that the card was accepted. Automatically, he presses 24

“There are 8 floors reserved for NCT. The 24th is the common floor. We usually have our pack meetings there, or just hang out in general,” Johnny explains.

“What? Sorry, but _floors_?” Haechan exclaims, dumbfounded at the information that they nonchalantly let out.

“Well, yeah. We own the building anyway, so it’s fine,” Ten adds.

Haechan's eyes flitted from Johnny, Ten and Mark, looking for any signs of banter among them. Johnny and Ten only seemed amused at his reaction while Mark at least had the decency to look embarrassed.

“I-If it helps, the number of floors we use lessened. We use only 8 now! The other families finally decided to move with each other. Johnny hyung and Ten hyung live with me and appa and papa!” Mark tries to defend, the stutter in his voice only adding to his charm.

“Yeah? That’s good,” Haechan agrees, not liking how the older man hid, easing some of the tension on Mark’s body. Johnny and Ten share a look upon witnessing their interaction.

The elevator dings, indicating to the four people that they have reached their destination. 

_Well here goes nothing._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello!!! i was gonna add the meeting here but then I realized how long this chapter was...and the meeting was going to be long as well so I cut it off hehe, hope you guys don't mind
> 
> also I really appreciate your comments and kudos 🥺i really didn't think people would like this, maybe my friend? hehe but thank you again!!!
> 
> as always, constructive criticism is appreciated <3


	6. Nice To Meet You, I'm Haechan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donghyuck meets the NCT pack whomp whomp

The first thing that Haechan noticed when they got out of the elevator was the two long dining tables in the center, benches on both sides of each table. 

“This is the main hallway. Normally, we try to get together once in a while to play board games,” Mark says, pointing to the left side of the room where two giant bookshelves stood, filled to the brim with various kinds of games.

“Ohhhh,” Haechan lets out in amazement before timidly following behind Johnny and Ten. His eyes flitted over to the other side and was met with different kinds of art pieces and photographs.

“That’s just a bunch of drawings and pictures of the pack,” Mark sheepishly explains, slightly urging Haechan to walk faster to avoid any lingering eyes. Ten, on the other hand, seems to have caught on and halts his step, prompting everyone else to do the same.

“Oh, Haechan! You have to see Mark’s section!” he exclaims, going over to Haechan and dragging him to the end of the hallway.

“Each family has a wall. Jaehyun and Taeyong are here since they’re the head family,” Johnny adds from beside Ten. His mate was too busy scanning around the wall for embarrassing pictures while Mark continuously tried to stop the older.

Haechan looks over to Johnny and asks, “There’s an order to the wall?”

Johnny nods. “Yeah. The later ones are the newest members of the pack. Kun, Chenle, Jungwoo, Yangyang, Hendery, and Xiajun are at the end so they don’t have much stuff yet.”

“That’s pretty cool.”

“Oh my gosh, Haechan come here! Look at this!” Ten shouts, catching Haechan’s attention as Mark loudly protests. Enjoying the clear distress in Mark’s face, Haechan went over to Ten and happily obliged.

“This is Mark when he was in his “cool guy” phase,” Ten says, using air quotes as he talked, and points at a photograph. Young Mark was dressed in baggy basketball shorts, an Eminem tee, a snapback worn backward and even a necklace with a cross pendant.

“Hyung,” Mark whines, resorting to tackling the older omega while Johnny watches and laughs. 

Haechan continues looking around the wall. The lower portion of the wall was filled with drawings of, what he assumes, his family, pack, friends and...lions? He wasn’t so sure, but it was adorable. There he sees a line with the words,  _ Mark, Age 4 _ written beside it. 

The higher he got, the more photographs littered the room and the more the lines of his height appeared. There were some pictures of young Mark with his parents looking very much in love with their child and each other.  _ Such a beautiful family. _

He was only snapped out of his observation when Mark sidles up beside him with a scowl on his face.

“Sorry about that. This is pretty embarrassing.”

Haechan offers him a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, I get it. Besides, uh, I think it’s cute.”

“Course you do,” Mark grumbles. “Your cringey middle school phase isn’t constantly showcased to the whole world.”

Haechan laughs, his tone full of amusement. “You’re right. You’re right.”

“I hate you,” Mark mutters, glaring at him playfully, unable to control the smile that graced his features.

“Okay, kids,” Johnny announces, stopping the two boys from bantering. “Enjoy your time with the rest of the babies. Ten and I still have to finish some work stuff so we’ll be on the business floor. Ring us if you need anything.”

“Sure thing,” Mark replies, waving at them for a bit. Before the couple could move back to the elevator, Haechan calls for them, suddenly remembering something.

“It’s the least I could do,” Haechan says, handing over one of his packaged cookies. “It was nice meeting you.”

Johnny, for some reason, is rendered speechless as he stares at the young boy with some semblance of fondness. It was Ten who took the container and offered him a grateful smile.

“Thank you, Haechan. Don’t mind my husband. He gets soft whenever food is involved.”

“Ah, okay,” Haechan replies, shifting uncomfortably at the unnerving stare of the tall alpha. “I, uh, hope you enjoy the cookies!”

“Mark, you better keep this kid around,” Johnny declares, fixing his gaze on the younger alpha. Haechan froze, looking over to Mark in fear.

“You only care about food, hyung,” Mark easily retaliates, causing Johnny to smile.  _ Oh, they’re just joking around _ .

Ten finally speaks up and huffs. “Way to rub it in my face that I don’t cook, Johnny.”

“It’s okay, babe. We didn’t become mates because of that anyway,” Johnny dismisses, quickly swooping down to peck the other.

Ten flushes, a sweet smile painting his face before he snaps out of his reverie and states, “Stop with the pleasantries. Let’s go. Doyoung will kill us for missing another call.”

Johnny’s face drops at the thought. “Ah, shit, you’re right. We have to go.”

Quickly, Johnny crosses the room, dragging a struggling omega with him. The height difference seemingly out of his mind as he pulled away.

Ten managed to strangle out a quick goodbye to the two boys before shouting at Johnny about how inconsiderate he was for pulling him when it was clear that he couldn’t handle the big strides. Haechan only stared at the couple until the elevator doors closed.

_ They’re a nice pair. _

“Come on before I leave you here to get lost,” Mark threatens, still slightly sulking. He even went as far as moving a couple of steps away from Haechan. 

Haechan merely laughed and caught up to Mark with a few easy strides. The older boy didn’t get very far.

“As if you’d do that,” Haechan answers as they fall back into step. The hall was rather long and filled with various trinkets such as an aquarium, a few arcade games, and even a stray table hockey table.

“It’s a mess, I know, but appa gave the kids free rein on the hall since most of the other rooms were designed by the hyungs and if you’re Ten hyung and Doyoung hyung, their designers,” Mark explains.

“How many rooms are there?” 

Mark thinks for a while and answers, “Honestly, I don’t know. I haven’t visited every room since I only like staying in a couple of them.”

_ Must be so hard to be rich _ , Haechan sarcastically thinks, expertly choosing to hold his tongue since he was, in fact, in another pack’s territory.

“Not gonna lie, I only planned on staying in the lounge room, but if you want, we can explore?”

Frankly, Haechan didn’t like that idea. Whenever he wandered off around the mansion back in his old pack, he would’ve ran into either an angry alpha or a cruel beta - not really something he particularly enjoyed. 

“I’m okay with staying in the lounge,” he nonchalantly replies, eyes darting around the other branching hallways for the possibility of someone appearing.

“Nice. We’re heading over there anyway,” Mark answers, gesturing towards the end of the hall where a huge double door loomed over them. “Let’s hope that none of the brats are here.”

Haechan laughs at the term and jokes, “Aw, hyung. Why? Worried that I’ll fail the interrogation?”

“ _ God _ , don’t even get me started,” Mark moans. “Well, here goes anything.”

That was the only warning that Haechan had before Mark was pushing open the doors, revealing a large, bright space filled with various trinkets of furniture. No one seemed to be there.

The enormously lime green couch was the first thing that caught his attention. It was shaped almost like a semi-circle, almost surrounding the gigantic flat-screen TV that stood proudly atop a light mahogany cabinet that seemed to have a wide selection of consoles, controllers and games. Underneath the couch was the fluffiest white rug that he has ever seen.  _ I really want to touch it _ .

To his right stood two foosball tables while to his left side was placed 4 kinds of vending machines - one for bottled drinks, one for canned drinks, one for chips and lastly, one for candies and chocolates. Normally, Haechan would’ve found that the most impressive thing in the room, that or maybe the light fixtures and the windowed sides that served as walls, but no. The most impressive thing he saw was the stairs leading up to the second floor.

The TV and the cabinet were located right below the glass barrier on the next floor while to the left of it were the stairs, leading up to it.

Upon seeing where Haechan’s eyes lingered, Mark said, “The upper floor only has like, 3? I think 3, pool tables and a bunch of other couches.”

“That’s amazing,” Haechan couldn’t help but whisper in bewilderment. Mark smiles at the expression on the boy’s face.

“That’s not the most amazing thing here. Come,” Mark says, walking over to the right-hand side of the room. When they stop in front of a neon sign that reads ‘ _ Love family’ _ , Haechan looks at him confused.

“Really? This is more amazing? Mark, I think the plant beside it is more interesting,” Haechan snorts, gesturing to one of the few potted plants in the room. Heck. The TV was a couple steps to their left, so it bothered him even further when Mark zoomed in on the very cheesy sign.

Mark just rolls his eyes and shushes the younger. “Just wait.”

He then reaches up to one of the letters from the sign and, to Haechan’s horror, begins to pull. Just as Haechan was about to scream and yell at the older’s actions, the wall began to give in. 

It was a door.

It took him a couple more seconds to wrap it around his head, but once Haechan had made peace with the fact that what he assumed was a wall was actually a door, the faint outline of the door appeared.

“What the fuck?” he exclaims, Mark looking at him with a proud grin.

“This is the mini relaxation room. Soundproof too so that the noise of the outside won’t disturb the people inside,” Mark says.

The room had one master bed, a small bookshelf complete with its own little reading nook in the corner, a massage chair, and even a tiny area for journaling. Haechan’s favourite, from the looks of it, was the presence of the large window/wall to the outside, accompanied by two cozy-looking chairs in front of it.

“This  _ is _ better,” Haechan agrees.

“Yeah,” Mark answers before remembering something and laughing. “You should see the adults fight for their turn here! Uncle Doyoung almost snapped at Uncle Taeil for whose turn it was to babysit Nana and Jeno.”

“Babysit? Isn’t Nana and Jeno like, old already?” Haechan questions, moving back outside as Mark gently closed the door to the relaxation room.

“Yeah, but Uncle Doyoung and Uncle Taeil are really protective over the both of them.”

“Both? Isn’t Jeno their only child?”

Mark laughs. “I know right! But Jaemin has been around since they were kids, so it doesn’t really matter. They’ve basically been family forever.”

Haechan hums in understanding.  _ Treating people like their family? Whack.  _

“Let’s play some games,” Mark declares, already making his way over to the cabinet full of consoles and games. Without looking back, he asks, “What do you want to play? Xbox? PS4?”

Haechan awkwardly stands in his place and answers sheepishly, “I, uh, have never played before.”

“You haven’t?” Mark exclaims, stopping his rummaging to look at Haechan with surprise.

“Not even Pokemon? Mario?”

“Okay, now you’re just saying made-up words,” Haechan frowns.

Mark just looks at him with a deadpan expression. “You’re kidding, right? Everyone knows Pokemon and Mario.”

“In what world?!” Haechan screeches in exasperation.

“In  _ this  _ world!” Mark says, equally exasperated. “Whatever, come on, we’re playing Mario Kart.”

“You’re just saying that so that you can win,” Haechan claims, making his way over to where Mark was and setting the bag of cookies beside the cabinet. The older was pulling a stand that had some sort of tablet? Haechan wasn’t sure, but it had a red and blue thing on either side.

“This is a switch. Normally you play it on this screen but you can also play on the TV. Let me just set it up,” Mark explains, gesturing towards the small device, before moving around the TV.

Haechan watched the alpha set up, too busy in observing the faint layout of muscles that were hidden underneath the grey hoodie, that he didn’t notice the sound of the door opening. It wasn’t until a voice rang out that both boys took note of the additional presence in the room.

“Guys, the lounge room. Mark and his friend are in the lounge room.”

“Oh, hey, Renjun.” 

“Hey, Mark. Who’s this?” Renjun asks, making his way over to the couch.  _ A beta, huh _ .

Haechan quickly bows his head in greeting. “Hello. My name is Lee Haechan. Nice to meet you.”

“Haechan? Isn’t that the guy in the locker room the other day?” Renjun questions, looking at Mark with an inquisitive stare.  _ Wow, rude much _ .

“Aw, Mark, you already told them about me?” Haechan instinctively jokes, not liking the prickling sensation of doubt that tickled his skin at the tone of the beta. 

Renjun’s mouth twitches upward. “I like him. Finally someone sensible around here.”

“Someone who appreciates me!” Haechan exclaims, feeling his chest unfurl into one of joy. Mark just groans.

“Oh, god. What have I done?”

“We were just about to play Mario kart, Renjun-ah. You up for it?” Mark continues, offering up another one of the switch things to him. 

“Hell yeah! I’m never gonna pass up the chance to crush you,” Renjun answers too enthusiastically. The evil glint in the boy's eyes had Haechan rethinking about a possible friendship.

Before they could begin the race (after Mark patiently taught Haechan the controls), the door opened once again, this time louder than the previous times.

“Hyung!” a bright blonde boy shouts, rushing over to them, dragging a tall, lanky, black-haired kid right behind him. Jaemin and Jeno casually follow behind them.

“You’re Mark hyung’s friend right?” the same blonde boy asked, getting a bit too close up on Haechan’s face. Naturally, the startled boy sunk further into the couch at the proximity.

“Chenle, stop. You’re weirding him out,” the black-haired boy complains, thankfully pulling the other boy, Chenle, away.

“Sorry about them. They’re still going through puberty,” Mark tells Haechan, earning offended gasps from the two and laughs from the other boys.

“This little mochi right here,” Jaemin announces, going over to the tall boy and pinching his cheeks, “Is Jisung. He’s soulmates with Chenle and I can’t wait until they graduate so that he could finally be in our pack.”

“Hyung!” Chenle whines, lightly slapping Jaemin’s arm. “I’m your packmate! And stop touching my alpha!”

Jaemin laughs, only further smothering Jisung with affection until Jeno took it upon himself to pull his mate away before their youngest omega could do anything. When all the commotion calmed down, Renjun called their attention.

“Can we  _ please _ play Mario kart?”

Mark laughs and says, “Yes. we should actually start playing. There’s still one more controller. Do you guys wanna join in?”

Jeno nods enthusiastically at the same time that Jaemin screams, “Yes!”

They stare at each other, silently talking about who should be the one to play. A couple of seconds passed until they both nodded and began playing rock, paper, scissors. In the end, Jeno won and Jaemin pathetically lamented.

“I’m so unlucky, what the fuck, I never win!”

“You can play instead of me,” Haechan says, catching everyone’s attention.

“Haechan, you don’t have to-” Mark starts but is cut off by the other’s dismissal.

“It’s fine. I don’t know how to play anyways, it won’t be fun at all.”

Jaemin smiles at him widely and tackles the boy into a hug. 

Haechan froze. An alpha was touching him. 

Before the sensation of fear and anxiety overwhelmed him, Jaemin thankfully pulled away, the switch controller on his hand.  _ When did he get that _ ? He wonders briefly before remembering the situation he was in. Carefully, Haechan scanned the faces in the room and was relieved to find no sign of suspicion or question in any of their expressions.

The game began and everyone quickly got lost in the competition.

Haechan gratefully took the distraction and used it to stabilize his mentality.

For a moment, he almost reverted back to Lee Haechan, the helpless omega that could do nothing but to surrender to the touch of the alphas and the betas. No. Right now he was Lee Haechan, a proud lone alpha that didn’t need anyone else. He  _ can  _ stand up against alphas and betas. He  _ can  _ protect omegas.

Too lost in his thought, Haechan didn’t see two scheming mates sidling up next to him.

“So,” the young omega says, snapping the older from his reverie. “We never got your name.”

“Oh!!” Haechan exclaims, feeling more at ease near another omega. “My name is Lee Haechan. Nice to meet you.”

“Haechan hyung? Aren’t you the one in the locker room the time Mark hyung found his soulmate?” Jisung asks from beside Chenle.

“Gee, seems like everyone really does know me.”

“Yeah, haha. There’s only a few left in the pack who aren’t mated so it’s a really big thing,” Jisung explains.

“Mark hyung’s also Uncle Taeyong and Uncle Jaehyun’s son so it's more of a big deal,” Chenle adds.

“Well, uh, sorry I can’t be more helpful,” Haechan replies, suddenly realizing how important it is, not just for Mark, but also for their entire pack, to find the missing soulmate. The guilt he already felt before amplified, suffocating him even more.

“It’s okay. It’s not your fault. Besides, Ten hyung is working on it,” Chenle waves off, before widening his eyes. “Don’t tell him I said that. It’s supposed to be a secret.”

Haechan laughs gleefully at the younger. Chenle reminded him so much of Minjun. They were both bright and loving. Unconsciously, he finds himself ruffling the kid’s hair.

“I won’t tell, don’t worry.”

Chenle smiles up at him radiantly. The action caused a warm fuzzy feeling of nostalgia to erupt in Haechan’s chest.  _ Donghyuck, stop. You can’t project. _

“Anyways, hyung, tell us about yourself. We don’t really know Mark hyung’s other friends,” Chenle asks. Both he and Jisung were looking at him intently, probably expecting an interesting backstory.

“What do you want to know?”

“Hmmm,” Chenle ponders for a while. Jisung was the one who lit up and asked, “How about something basic? Like, what pack are you from?”

“Oh, uh, I don’t really have a pack.”

The way Chenle and Jisung stopped and stared at each other in panic was comical. Haechan couldn’t help but snort at their expressions.

“Oh my god, guys,  _ chill _ . I don’t mind.”

The two visibly relaxed. Chenle scoots closer to Haechan while Jisung remains still visibly wary of his words.

“Will you ever join a pack? Jungwoo hyung was a lone wolf too, until he met my appa. Appa and him are good friends so Jungwoo hyung cried a lot when it was offered.”

“What happened to Jungwoo hyung’s old pack?” Haechan asked, intrigued at the sudden information. Jungwoo seems so independent and secure, but he was still an omega.  _ Must’ve been hard _ .

“Jungwoo hyung was an orphan all his life so we don’t really know. He even rejected Ten hyung’s offer of digging stuff up about his family,” Jisung answers.

“Ten hyung?”

“Yeah, Ten hyung is like a wizard with the tech and stuff. That’s why Uncle Taeyong assigned him to tech and research stuff for NCT,” Chenle explains. 

“That’s why it’s surprising that Ten hyung hasn’t been able to find anything about Mark hyung’s soulmate. It’s been months, and still nothing,” Jisung supplies.

Haechan could basically feel his blood run cold. If Ten was as good as they were making him up to be, then he was in danger. Meeting the older omega probably heightened his chances of being found out. Heck, Jaemin already found him suspicious, what more with Ten?

“Oh, hey, what the heck is that thing?” 

Haechan tears his gaze away from Chenle and looks over to see Jaemin pointing towards a corner.

“Oh!” Haechan shouts, standing up from his seat. Everyone stared at him as he made his way towards his bag. 

“I made cookies for you guys. I, I know it’s not much, but I thought it was the least I could do since Mark invited me over.”

Everyone aside from Mark stares at Haechan with shock plastered on their faces.  _ Hm, guess basic manners are foreign to them _ .

Renjun stood up from the couch and walked over to Haechan. He placed a hand on one of the younger’s shoulders and declared, “It’s official. You are my favourite.”

Haechan was never too fond of compliments. He didn’t like hearing them and hated even more receiving them, so he did what he did best and smiled.

“You only love me for my cookies.”

“Oh, no. How ever did you find out?” Renjun retorts, his tone sarcastically monotonous. “Can I get a cookie?”

Haechan laughs, but nonetheless hands over the entire bag since the others seemed to gather around Renjun. “The audacity.”

“Chocolate chip!” Chenle happily exclaims as he pulls one container from the bag. He opened the lid and quickly got one, passing the container around their group. Haechan watched nervously as they took a bite of his cookies. 

“These are good!” Jaemin says, cookie crumbs littering the corners of his mouth. Jeno simply wipes them, acting as if it was an everyday occurrence. Then again, maybe it was.  _ Still, did they really have to be so lovey-dovey? _

“I didn’t know you could bake!” the pink-haired alpha continues, completely unbothered by Jeno’s touch.

“I...don’t really bake, haha. It’s my first time trying it out,” Haechan answers, sheepishly rubbing his nape.

“No way! You got to show me the recipe! In fact, why don’t we try baking right now?” Jaemin says. While everyone stared at the alpha with various expressions of enthusiasm, confusion, and exasperation, Mark stared at Haechan with an endeared look.

“Wh-What?” Haechan stutters at the proposition.  _ This is not what I had in mind when I said yes to hanging out _ .

“Your appa will totally kill us, won’t he?” Renjun asks, looking over to Jaemin’s unfortunate mate. 

Jeno sadly nods. “Yeah. Especially since Nana promised dad that we weren’t gonna do anything dangerous.”

“Dangerous? Baking is not dangerous!” Jaemin defends.

“Hyung, you’re the only one among us that actually cooks. Maybe Renjun hyung too, but what are me, Lele and Jeno gonna do? Not to mention, we have Mark hyung. We’re just gonna make a mess and before you know it, there’s gonna be a fire,” Jisung retorts, causing Jaemin to look at him in offense.

“I practically raised you and  _ this? _ This is what I get?”

Renjun rolls his eyes. “Not this again.”

Before Jaemin and Jisung could continue going back and forth, Chenle quips, “I think it’ll be fun! Haechan hyung will be with us this time so it’s gonna be different!”

“How do we know Haechan’s not just gonna be as worse as the two of you?” Jeno asks, pointedly looking at the two youngest.

“He baked the cookies perfectly fine,” Jisung points out. Jaemin raises an eyebrow.

“I thought you didn’t want to bake.”

Jisung blushed red and not so subtly glances at Chenle. “I, uh, changed my mind.”

“Fucking whipped,” Renjun mutters loud enough for everyone to hear while Jaemin grunts in betrayal. Jeno wraps an arm around Jaemin, comforting his alpha in what has been deemed to be the most painful experience of his life.

“Why don’t we just make ramen instead?” Haechan suggests, seeing that nothing was going to happen if they continued on like that. 

At everyone’s surprised face, he hastily explains, “I mean, it’s the easiest thing to make. And besides, we already have cookies. If we make more won’t we get sick of it?”

“Hmm, you make a good point,” Renjun says.

Jaemin claps his hand, the sulky demeanor now replaced with one of keen interest as he clasped Jeno’s dangling hand and drags them towards a door near the vending machine. “Well then! I’m convinced! Ramen we go!”

Chenle and Jisung look at each other with a mix of amusement and eagerness before bolting from their spots to follow Jeno and Jaemin. Renjun merely sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose, dejectedly following behind the younger ones.

Haechan turns his head to look at Mark but was surprised to see the older’s gaze already on him. “Mark hyung?”

That seemed to snap Mark out of whatever he was thinking because he responded, “Yeah?”

“Should we fix up before we go and help make ramen?” Haechan asks, deciding not to prod into the older’s odd behaviour. He gestures at the consoles strewn about on the floor and the TV that was still stuck in the menu of Mario Kart.

Mark shakes his head. “No, it’s fine. We’ll fix it later, and besides, you’re a guest in this house.”

“I don’t mind,” Haechan tries to argue, but Mark just brushes him off and simply closes the TV.

“No, I insist. Come on, they’re probably already making a huge mess.”

Haechan laughs and follows Mark towards the door. By the time that they opened the door, the sound of something falling on the floor echoed. Mark looks at Haechan with an expression that screamed, ‘ _ I told you so _ ’.

To further prove his point, Chenle could be heard shouting, “Hyung! That wasn’t me! It was Jisung!”

Mark and Haechan entered the room, barely catching Jisung’s offended look. 

“It wasn’t me! Hyung! You  _ know _ that it was Chenle!” the youngest screeched.

“Either way! Both of you will be cleaning that up! We need the pot for the ramen,” Jaemin huffs, pushing the two boys near the fallen object.

Chenle and Jisung looked like they wanted to protest, but held their tongue at the sight of Jaemin’s daring gaze. (It may also be because of Jeno lowkey threatening them from behind, but who cares)

As Mark and Haechan began to approach the other five boys, Haechan used this chance to observe the room. Two large dining tables were near the entrance, and to the right side of the room was a huge room full of food and condiments - a pantry Mark says later on - and in the further back was the kitchen.

Compared to the lounge room, the room was a lot more simple. The empty spaces in the walls were decorated with various paintings ranging from random people to small dogs. The room was mainly designed with white and brown furniture. The space in itself gave off a mixed feeling of elegance and comfort.

By the time that they got to the white marbled island, Jisung and Chenle have already finished cleaning the pot. Still grumbling about the unfair treatment, Jisung handed it over to Jaemin’s awaiting hands. 

“Now, now, Sungie. Don’t be like that to your mom. It’s disrespectful,” Renjun quips, adding more fuel to the fire.

“Nana hyung’s not my mom! He’s annoying!” Jisung blurts. Everyone froze at the youngest’s outburst and waited with bated breaths at how the older was going to respond. This time, however, Jaemin didn’t react. The alpha just grabbed the pot and began boiling water.

“Nono, can you pass me three packets of ramen?”

Jeno spared Jaemin a glance, his gaze concerned, before moving towards one of the cupboards. Despite the tense atmosphere, Haechan’s eyes widened at the amount of ramen packets inside the cupboard.  _ Wow, I can never _ .

“Three packets?” Mark asks, oblivious to the guilt that clouded Jisung’s features at his behaviour towards Jaemin. 

Jaemin hums, not looking up towards the eldest too busy with checking the temperature of the water, and answers, “Yeah. I promised appa that we wouldn’t eat anything. He and Uncle Taeyong really wanted to have lunch with whoever was here.”

“Hah, Xuxi will miss another lunch again,” Renjun says, mischief clouding his eyes.

“I’m so sorry to Lucas hyung for having you as a mate,” Jaemin states, ignoring the way Jisung fidgeted with shame, Chenle, by his side, trying to comfort the younger.

“Hey! I’ll have you know, I’m a  _ wonderful _ mate,” Renjun retorts.

“Yeah, he is. He always packs some food for Lucas hyung anyways,” Jeno informs, making Renjun flush red while Jaemin places the packets on to the boiling water.

“H-How did you know?!” 

“Lucas always gushes about it, Junnie,” Mark answers, watching 

_ Junnie _ ? Haechan thinks, stopping for a moment at the familiar nickname.  _ Junnie is a common nickname, Donghyuck. Relax. Minjun’s different _ .

“Hyung,” Jisung softly calls out, tugging at the end of Jaemin’s shirt. “‘M sorry.”

Jaemin glances at Jisung before returning back to the pot and placing the seasoning. “It’s okay, Sungie. Just don’t do it next time, okay?”

Jisung nods, his demeanor finally relaxing, and began reciprocating Chenle’s touches, to which the older happily accepts.

“Can you guys get bowls? Ramen’s basically done,” Jaemin asks, looking at Haechan’s direction, and turns off the stove. Haechan looks at Mark silently asking him to lead the way and follows when the alpha moves around the island.

Once they got the bowls, they carefully walked over to Jaemin and placed it nearby. Immediately, Jaemin grabs one of the bowls and begins pouring some noodles and soup. “Jisung-ah, get this one.”

Jisung obediently follows and grabs the bowl, slightly hissing at the heat of the ramen and quickly moves toward the island, assumingly waiting for Chenle to get his own. When the omega got his own bowl, they both moved to one of the huge dining tables.

Renjun comes up unprompted behind Jaemin after another bowl is full and graciously takes it. Haechan nervously waited for Mark to finish his turn, completely unaware that Jisung went back to gather utensils.  _ Was he supposed to be part of it? What if Jaemin doesn’t count me and then yells at me for even assuming I’m part of them? _

“Haechan?”

Haechan snaps out of his thoughts and sees Jaemin looking at him inquisitively, a bowl of ramen on his hand. 

“Come get your bowl.”

_ Okay, I’m good. Whew.  _

“Yeah, sorry, got distracted a bit, hehe,” Haechan fibs, carefully getting the bowl out of Jaemin’s hand, not at all flinching at the heat of the ceramic bowl. He walks along with Mark towards the occupied table.

Instinctively, Haechan moves to sit beside Chenle, Mark sitting right beside him. Renjun looked at all of them unimpressed.

“Really? You’re all gonna sit there and leave me alone here?”

Chenle and Haechan giggles at the statement.

“Don’t worry, Jeno and Nana are gonna be beside you in a minute,” Haechan teases, feeling a lot more comfortable enough around another omega’s presence.

Renjun groans. “That’s worse! They literally make  _ me  _ feel single and I have a mate!”

“Aw, Junnie, don’t be jealous. We can love you too,” Jaemin appears and sits beside Renjun, Jeno following along.

_ Relax. He’s not your Junnie _ , he had to remind himself again. The nickname still gave him a pang of sadness.

“Hard pass.”

“Yeah, Nana. He only has heart eyes for Lucas,” Jeno adds, grinning impishly.

“Hyung don’t even try to deny it,” Chenle quickly says, beating Renjun’s attempts at retorting. The beta huff and sinks to his seat.

“Just pass the chopsticks,” he mutters, holding his hand out towards Jisung.

Jisung looks at Chenle and seemingly agrees on something before turning back to Renjun with a devilish smile. “Tell us first how much you love Lucas hyung.”

“Wha- Pft - Why? You know what, I’m just gonna grab my own,” Renjun splutters, moving to stand up.

“Alright then, hyung,” Chenle airily says. “Then I guess someone else will have to use the chopsticks that match with Lucas hyung.”

Chenle, the devil, turns to Haechan and innocently grins. “Why don’t you use it, hyung? I’m sure they won’t mind.”

Haechan looks over to Renjun and sees the latter staring at them with such intensity. He seemed to be debating inside himself, and frankly, Haechan, even though he wanted to antagonize the boy further, didn’t particularly want to continue until the beta gets mad.  _ A mad beta is never good _ .

Before he could refuse the offer, however, Renjun breaks. “Okay, fine, you fucking monsters.”

Chenle grins brightly and looks at the blushing boy. Jaemin discreetly opens his camera and begins filming the other boy who was too busy staring at his bowl to notice.

“I freaking love that boy, okay? I never really believed that much in soulmates but then I met him and like...it all...it all made sense. I always clowned Jaemin and Jeno about being so cheesy with each other but I got it. I wanted to hold Lucas’ hand and do all that lovey dopey shit until we grow old together.”

Stunned silence enveloped everyone once Renjun finished his mini-rant.

“I didn’t think you’d actually do it seriously,” Jisung says, breaking everyone from their stupor.

“You guys asked for it! Now give me my chopsticks!” Renjun splutters, red from embarrassment, and snatches the chopsticks from Jisung’s hands. The action spurred everyone else to normal.

“Can’t wait to send this to Lucas hyung,” Jaemin says, giggling as he fiddled with his phone. Renjun screeches and moves to tackle the alpha while Jisung distributes the chopsticks to everyone else, completely unfazed.

“That sounds nice,” Mark mutters after all the utensils have been successfully delivered.

“What does, hyung?” Jeno asks, not caring how Renjun shrieked and Jaemin evilly laughed from beside him.

“What Renjun said. You know, about his soulmate,” Mark expounds, a hint of sadness in his voice.

“Oh,” Jeno dumbly responds, not knowing what he can say to comfort the other. Their pack, with the exception of Taeyong and Jaehyun, tried not to bring up the topic of Mark’s soulmate around the alpha. It was too much of a sensitive topic.

Thankfully, Renjun’s loud shout interrupted their conversation. 

“Why would you send it to Xuxi?! I’m so fucking embarrassed!” 

With that, everyone dissolved into teasing Renjun while the latter frantically texted his mate that he had the wrong idea. Their conversation flowed easily from then on, each taking their turn talking while eating ramen, causing silence to become non-existent around them. 

It was nice. It felt good to be part of a pack, even temporarily. Still, Haechan couldn’t help but glance over at Mark sometimes. He couldn’t shake the tone in Mark’s voice. The hint of sorrow and wishful thinking had him drowning in guilt. 

Just as Haechan was halfway through his bowl, Mark’s phone rang. 

“Hello? Appa?” 

Not wanting to invade Mark’s privacy, Haechan focused on Jisung’s retelling of how he and Chenle almost got lost in Gangnam the other day, trying to find a gift for one of their friends. Just as they were about to get to the part where Kun, in his worried state, almost demanded Ten and Taeyong to begin a search party for the two, Mark cried out.

“Appa and Uncle Doyoung are done with the meeting! They’re near!”

It was almost like a splash of cold water washed the entire group. Everyone stared at Mark with widened eyes, each of them frozen in their seats.

“Why? What’s wrong?” Haechan asks, as everyone began inhaling their own bowls of ramen.

“Mine and Jeno’s dad are the most health-conscious ones among the parents. They will literally kill us if they see ramen,” Mark answers, before taking big sips of the soup. 

Haechan warily eyes his own half-eaten bowl of ramen. In all honesty, he was pretty full already. Even though he had been given a small portion (it was given since it was three packets of ramen divided for seven bowls), he wasn’t used to eating anything more than a sandwich and whatever was leftover from the alphas and betas of his former pack. 

He tries to continue eating, but soon, everyone is finishing and rushing to clean the evidence in the kitchen. Before Mark could stand up and rush over to help the others, Haechan meekly calls out after him.

“C-Can you help me finish?”

Mark cocks his head to the side and questions, “Are you full already?”

“I-I can finish it in some time! But since you said your parents were coming over...I was just worried.”

Mark stares at Haechan, an unreadable expression on his face. “Alright.”

Haechan smiles brightly and gently moves his bowl to the side as Mark takes his seat back beside the other. The way that Mark practically ravaged the ramen was probably not supposed to be as attractive as Haechan perceived it to be, but who can blame him? He was an omega deep down after all, and seeing an alpha tear through food ignited something in the wolf in him.

Once Mark was done, he looked at Haechan and said, “Let’s hurry. Who knows how long we have left until they get here.”

Haechan grins and hurriedly moves with Mark towards the overly crowded sink. While Jaemin and Renjun began bickering on who should clean the pot (“ _ You should do it! You didn’t do anything!” “Well so did Jeno! But I don’t hear you complaining” _ ), the door behind them opens. 

“What are you guys doing?” 

Everyone snapped their heads towards the sound and was met with an intimidating white-haired man and a sharp-looking guy.

“A-Appa!” Mark exclaims, moving in front of Jaemin and Renjun to block the sink. “There were just some dirty dishes in the sink so we thought that we would do something about it and clean.”

“Nice going, hyung. Now they really won’t suspect anything,” Jisung mutters sarcastically at the poorly constructed lie.

“Mark. We can still smell the ramen.”

Mark flinches and looks at Jeno, signaling him to say something. 

“Jeno-yah, don’t even try. You’re worse than Mark at lying,” the black-haired man says, making his way over to them. Now that guy was nearer, Haechan could finally figure out that the other was a beta. 

The guy held himself confidently, unknowingly making Haechan curl inward on himself and hide. It didn’t last long because suddenly, the white-haired man, an omega he realizes, stood beside the other guy and looked at him.

“Oh hello, who are you?”

Haechan shied away from the two people in front of him and answered, “H-Hello. My name is Lee Haechan. I am Mark hyung’s friend.”

“Mark? You’re Mark’s friend?” someone asks, but Haechan didn’t want to look at who it was. 

“Y-Yes.”

“In that case, I’d like to introduce myself.”

Haechan looks up and sees the lanky white-haired man extend a hand in greeting, mechanically, he takes it. “My name’s Lee Taeyong.”

Haechan’s eyes widened.  _ Holy shit. Oh my god. Oh my fucking god. Of course it’s Taeyong. Mark called him appa but AH I WASN’T READY FOR THIS. _

In the midst of his internal packing, Haechan managed to revert into auto-pilot.

After shaking hands, he politely smiled and was greeted to the man beside Taeyong.

“Hi. My name’s Kim Doyoung. I’m Jeno’s father.”

“Nice to meet you.”

Doyoung smiles at him, instantly finding the resemblance with Jeno’s own beautiful smile. 

“So,” Doyoung says, his face changing to a stern one as he looks at his son. “Why did you make ramen?”

“We were hungry?” Jeno sheepishly answers, scooting over to Jaemin who acted as if he had nothing to do with it.

At Doyoung’s deadpan expression, Jeno gives in and answers honestly, “We were going to bake ‘cause Haechan made cookies for us, but we didn’t want to make more cookies so we made ramen instead.”

“You made cookies?” Taeyong asks. Haechan flushed at the sudden attention directed towards him. No matter how much Jisung and Hyunjin hyped him up to be, he was even more beautiful than he could imagine.  _ The pictures on the wall didn’t do him enough justice _ .

“Yes. I wanted to make something since Mark hyung invited me over,” he meekly answers, immediately being rewarded by a smile. 

“That’s sweet. Can I have one?”

Haechan nods. Before he could walk towards the living room, where the bag of cookies lay abandoned, Mark speaks up, “I’ll go with him!”

“Okay. we’ll begin preparing a late lunch, and no, Chenle, ramen is not lunch. We need real food,” Taeyong says, moving around the room with ease. 

While Mark and Haechan leave, they could hear Doyoung reprimand the other boys. “Jisung, Lele, and Jeno, you guys better finish cleaning your mess.”

“But uncle!”

“No, buts. Nana and Renjun will help me and Taeyong cook.”

Groans erupted among them, causing Haechan to giggle and whisper to Mark. “You sneaky bastard, you just didn’t want to be roped in for punishment.”

Mark grins. “You could tell?”

Their laughter was short-lived because as soon as they walked back in the lounge room, they were met with a group of men in suits. Haechan’s gaze immediately dropped to the floor at the sight of a crowd.

“Papa! Uncle! I didn’t know you guys would be here!” Mark happily exclaims and rushes over to the center. Haechan quietly shuffles behind.

A deep voice laughed. “We had a meeting with another company and since it’s been so long, we decided, why not hang out?”

“That’s great! I haven’t seen you guys in so long!”

“Oh, who’s that?” someone asks, finally taking notice of the figure awkwardly standing a few feet behind Mark.

“Oh! This is Haechan!” Mark introduces, prompting Haechan to look up. He was met with surprised eyes.  _ Suho hyung? _

“Dong-” Baekhyun begins to call out, but is cut off by Kai’s harsh jab.

“Nice to meet you, Haechan-ssi. My name is Suho” the leader greets, easily acting as if it was their first time meeting each other.

“N-Nice to meet you too,” Haechan stiffly greets, even going as far as to bow slightly. Suho then proceeded to “introduce” the other Exo members, until he was left with the unknown brunette.

“Hello, Haechan. My name is Jung Jaehyun. I’m Mark’s father.”

_ What the fuck? Mark’s parents are  _ **_freaking_ ** _ gorgeous! _

“What brings you here? Didn’t Taeyong and Doyoung make you guys help with cooking?” Jaehyun asks.

“Oh, yeah, but appa wanted to try the cookies that Haechan made for us!” Mark answers, finally remembering their purpose in the room.

“Cookies?” Jaehyun reiterates, looking over to Haechan for clarification. “You made cookies for us?”

Haechan shyly nods and finds himself repeating, “Y-Yes. I wanted to make something since Mark hyung invited me over.”

“Thank you, Haechan,” Jaehyun says, giving the young boy a dimpled smile.  _ I can’t handle this much pretty people looking at me, oh my god _ .

“It tastes good too! Here, try it!” Mark exclaims, the bag already on his hand as he thrusts one container towards the men. Haechan restlessly awaits for the group’s reaction.

“Oh my gosh, this is so good! I didn’t know you could bake!” Baekhyun exclaims, cheerfully munching on a cookie.

“You did really good, Do - Haeachan-ah,” Kai comments, acting nonchalant at his little slip-up.

“Mark why did it take you so long to bring him over?” Jaehyun jokingly questions, but nonetheless causes Mark to get flustered.

“Sh-Shut up, papa. We’re going back to help appa with the food,” Mark stutters and saunters over to Haechan, rapidly making his way towards the door. Haechan watches in amusement and bows cordially before following after the boy.

By the time Haechan got back to the other room, Mark was already carefully placing the bag on top of the island and moving over to his father. Taeyong looks up from what he was cooking, glances at the bag, and smiles. He says something to Mark and returns his attention back to the stove.

The closer Haechan got to the kitchen, the more fragrant the air became. The smell and the sound of cooking was very new to him. In his old pack, they didn’t get the privilege to be around freshly cooked food, and even in Exo, they mostly lived off takeout, so this was unfamiliar to him.

Haechan tentatively approaches the kitchen, unsure of what he can do. Taeyong was too busy boiling something while Doyoung seemed to be frying some chicken, Renjun on his left, making some sort of sauce that would coat the chicken? Haechan wasn’t sure, he had never seen a sauced up chicken.

Jaemin, on the other hand, stood at the right of Doyoung and was frying his own thing. Surprisingly, the alpha moved methodically since Jeno hovered around, gathering the finished pieces into a plate. Mark, Jisung and Chenle seemed to be tasked with cleaning up, so while the others worked, they gathered dirtied dishes and leftover ingredients.

“Haechan-ah, come here,” Taeyong beckons. 

Haechan obliges, hesitantly taking small steps towards the leader. Taeyong might have been an omega, but the power that he exudes was enough to make Haechan careful in his actions.

It came as a surprise to him when the older man lifted a spoonful of whatever he was boiling. 

“Uh, what’s that?”

If Taeyong was surprised by the question, he didn’t show it. “It’s Kimchi Jiggae. I want you to try it and see if it’s good.”

_ Okay, kimchi. I’ve heard of that before. It’s the red thing that we were always left with _ .

Haechan slowly gulped the soup down and swallowed. It was warm enough to give him a pleasant feeling in his chest, which only persisted by the spice of the food. He loved it.

“It’s good, Taeyong-ssi,” he answers honestly, earning a sweet smile from the other. 

“That’s good to hear,” Taeyong says, before turning the heat down to simmer. “Now all we have to do is wait for it to finish cooking.”

The beautiful omega stared at Haechan playfully. “In the meantime, I would love to have a bite of your cookies.”

Haechan flushes again, and quietly nods, moving towards the island to get another container from his bag. He had six containers at the start, but was left now with three.  _ I may or may not have overestimated how many cookies I should’ve made _ . 

Nonetheless, he brings one of the containers over to Taeyong.

The older looks at him softly and gets one cookie from the now opened container. “You’re very meek and shy for an alpha.”

“Well, uh.” Haechan fumbles, his grip tightening from anxiety. “You’re very strong and powerful for an omega.”

Taeyong, honest to god, guffaws. The sound of his raspy laughter resounding throughout the room, catching everyone’s attention briefly. Haechan could feel his face get redder at the sound. When the leader calmed down, he looked at the young boy with an amused face.

“I like you. I’m glad you're Mark’s friend.”

Bashfully, Haechan smiles at the approval and unconsciously admits, “I am too.”

“Don’t tell him that, though!” he quickly whispers, looking around to see if anyone else overheard his admission. 

“I won’t tell. Your secret’s safe with me,” Taeyong gently reassures. Haechan sighs in relief and gives the older omega a grateful smile.

A beat of, what Haechan perceives as awkward, silence passes, until Taeyong asked, “So, Haechan. What pack are you from? I’m afraid I haven’t heard of you before.”

_ Oh, fuck. Taeyong probably knew everyone from Seoul. Fuck, fuck, fuck, I just made myself a target. _

“Uh, I don’t actually have a pack,” Haechan explains, hoping that it was enough to dissuade the other from prodding further.

Taeyong nods. “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m glad you’re doing fine, though.”

“I am! I managed to get a scholarship and a job, so I’m really rather fortunate,” Haechan rambles with sincere gratefulness. 

“That’s nice. If ever, you need any help, you can always approach me.”

“Oh my, no!” Haechan blurts out at the proposition. “I mean, thank you, really. But I don’t want to impose. I’ll be fine.”

“I know you’ll be fine, but I won’t retract my offer. Mark never brings his friends over so you must be special,” Taeyong answers, completely unaware of how much his statement affected the younger.

_ Special? Does Mark see me as special? Wait, no. He only invited you over because of what happened last week. Don’t assume anything, you dimwit _ .

“And anyway, even if you don’t want to ask NCT for help, you can ask Suho hyung. He owns Exo and is in line to inherit SM after his father. I’m sure you can find something with them.”

“Wh-What? Suho-ssi? SM?” Haechan splutters. There was absolutely no way that Suho, the boy that fussed over him, was the heir to a multi-billion company. 

“Yeah. It was hard at first but Suho hyung’s family worked so hard for it until they managed to get where they are now. Gosh, you should’ve seen their pack meetings. It was a mess of arguments and fights. When me and Jaehyun mated, we finally left and made our own.”

“You were in their pack meetings?” Haechan asks in wonder.  _ What the heck is up with the relations between everyone? This is a conspiracy _ .

“Yeah. Suho is Jaehyun’s cousin so when we discovered that we were soulmates, I tagged along with them. The rest of it was history.”

Realization washed over Haechan. Suho, the kind man that basically gave him a new life, is related to the soulmate he is so desperately trying to run away from.  _ The universe is truly conspiring against me _ , he bitterly thinks.

As Taeyong continued talking about their pack and his son, Haechan could vaguely hear his heart’s incessant chant.

_ It’s fate. You’re fated to be with your soulmate _ .

Soon enough, the food was ready. While the kids were setting up the dining tables properly, Taeyong goes to the lounge room to signal that it was time to eat, while Doyoung calls whoever was in the building to come for food.

Haechan wanted to sit beside Exo, but Mark was quick to invite him over. The older people sat on one end of the table, while the younger ones were grouped together, Mark, Taeyong, Jeno, and Suho served as the connection between the two parties.

Before they could dig in, Johnny and Ten walked inside the room, followed by three other guys.

“Hey everyone!” Ten greets, practically prancing over the adult side. 

“Food!” Johnny cheers, in lieu of acknowledging the others in the room.

Everyone else mumbles their own greetings. The other two (Yuta and Sicheng, who were Renjun’s parents, Mark explains), smiles at everyone tiredly, while the other guy (Taeil) walks over to Doyoung and presses a chaste kiss on the latter’s forehead.  _ Must be Jeno’s other dad. _

Taeyong, the merciful soul, introduces Haechan to the newcomers and is welcomed with friendly smiles.

“Now that that’s over, let’s dig in!” Taeyong announces, earning some dramatic claps from some of the hungry adults.

Haechan was going to wait until everyone was finished, but Taeyong, upon noticing the lack of movement, took it upon himself to place food on his plate.  _ Why must Mark be such a daddy’s boy? Why couldn’t he choose to sit beside the other kids? _

“You’re too skinny, Haechan. You need to eat more.”

“Thank you, Taeyong-ssi,” Haechan mumbles, a bit ashamed at being babied in front of Mark and his pack.

“Call me Uncle Taeyong, hm?”

“O-okay, Uncle Taeyong,” Haechan hurriedly murmurs, hoping that the omega’s attention would shift away from him. Thankfully, it did, because he shifted to Mark and the ridiculous amount of rice on his plate.

Haechan looked down on his own plate and saw rice doused in the same sauce Taeyong had given him, decorated with some kimchi and two pieces of beef, a brown coated chicken, and a weird yellow thing.

“What’s this?” Haechan whispers to Renjun beside him, pointing at the unknown food.

“That’s pajun. Have you never had pajun?” 

Haechan shook his head and pressed further, “What is it?”

“Hmmm, if I’m not wrong, it’s like pancakes? But with scallions,” Renjun describes.

Haechan didn’t think it’d be wise to ask what a pancake or scallion was so he just hums in faux understanding. Renjun seemed to buy this because he teasingly jokes, “You, a born and raised resident, asking me, a Chinese born national, about one of the most common Korean dishes. The irony of this is not lost on me.”

The two of them laughed at the statement. 

“I didn’t know you were from China. How was that like?” Haechan asks, intrigued by the tidbit of information.

Renjun nods. “Fùqīn (father) - his name’s Sicheng, the stoic one that came in a while ago - had me accidentally back in China. It was such a scandalous thing so we were kicked out of the pack immediately.”

“Oh, that’s terrible,” Haechan comments, his face twisted with distraught at the thought.

“It is, and it took six years for him to reach out for help, but it was for the better. Fùqīn was friends with Uncle Ten, so we moved to Korea thanks to him. There, he met otōsan (father) - Yuta, the one with Fùqīn right now - and boom. I’m in Korea.”

“It was fate,” Haechan mutters, finally allowing himself to hear the whispers of his heart.

“Weird how soulmates work, huh?” Renjun quips. Their conversation died as Renjun began to dig in his food, leaving Haechan to his own thoughts.

_ Can I outrun fate? Will I be able to change my destiny? _

Haechan huffs, and frustratingly takes a bite of the pajun (it was surprisingly good), as one concerning thought lingered in his head.

_ Do I even want to? _

Not liking the thought, Haechan continuously took small bites of his food. When he began feeling himself get full, he eyed his plate in disdain. He had only finished the pajun. Inwardly he groans and looks around, hoping that no one notices his appetite.

He accidentally locks eyes with Suho. They share a secret smile.  _ At least, I have someone on my side, I guess _ .

“So Mark, I heard from Jaehyun about your soulmate,” Suho starts. Haechan notices how Mark tensed up at the statement and had to physically restrain himself to reach out.

“If you want, we can help you. Just give us the details.”

“That’d be nice, wouldn’t it Mark? Suho hyung has more reach than we do, so if your soulmate went abroad, we could know better,” Taeyong encourages, wanting nothing more than to find his son’s other half.

“You would that, uncle? You’d actually help me?” Mark hopefully asks, as if Suho was the answer all along.

“Of course. If I’d have known sooner, I would’ve offered earlier,” Suho replies, lightly glaring at Jaehyun for being left out on the news. “So, anything you can tell me about them?”

At the question, Mark frowns. “Not really. All I know was that my soulmate’s a boy and that he smells like sunflowers and the ocean.”

Suho subtly stiffens. Kai and Baekhyun, who were in their own conversation with Johnny and Ten, stopped and froze.

“Sunflowers and the ocean?” Suho reiterates, even though he had perfectly heard it clearly the first time.

“Yeah, Haechan here was in the locker room at that time but he didn’t manage to catch the mystery boy,” Renjun adds.

The three Exo members stared at him intently. He could basically hear them interrogate and scold the younger in his thoughts.  _ Oh great, I’m gonna have to spend the evening being held at gunpoint. Thanks, Renjun _ .

“Well, we’ll see what we can do,” Suho answers, effectively halting the conversation. Mark looks at him with unadulterated joy and profusely thanks the older.

“Anything for my favourite nephew,” Suho brushes off nonchalantly, but is clearly delighted by the boy’s words.

Lunch after that, went by smoothly. Haechan found himself enjoying Renjun and Mark’s presence, happily talking with them, until some of the other adults (Yuta, Sicheng, Doyoung, Taeil, and Johnny) excused themselves to leave. Only then did he realize that nearly everyone was finished with their own meal, and was chatting with each other.

He was just about to finish one chicken wing. 

“Haechan? What’s wrong? Is the food bad?” Taeyong asks worriedly at the sight of his almost full plate.

_ I’m not used to eating, _ his heart yelled, tired of pretending.

“No, no, Uncle. The food is good, I’m just pretty full from the ramen we had earlier,” Haechan says, pointedly ignoring the fact that Mark was sitting between them and could hear every word.

“Oh, okay,” Taeyong sighs in relief before turning to his son. “Why would you let him get full on ramen? It spoils his appetite for the real food!”

Haechan nervously looks at Mark and prays that the older won’t rat him out. 

“Sorry appa. We got too carried away with the ramen,” Mark apologizes, earning another round of nagging. When Taeyong had decided that it was enough, he turned to join in the conversation between Ten, Suho, and Jaehyun. 

“Thank you,” Haechan whispers to Mark.

“Why do you eat so little?” Mark asks, glancing between Haechan and his plate.

“I don’t get hungry that much I guess,” the younger answers vaguely enough to satisfy the older.

“I can tell,” Mark dejectedly sighs at the thought of the younger not being able to get the proper nutrients. “Anyways, I suggest we get out of here before appa tries to feed you everything.”

“And yes, before you ask, he would. He did that with Jeno when he got sick and refused to eat anything. Not even Uncle Doyoung had the heart to make him eat,” he adds.

Haechan’s eyes widened and he glanced towards the omega leader that had a sweet smile on his face. “No way, really?”

Mark solemnly nods. “Yes. Appa can do things no one can. So I suggest that you get up quick.”

Luckily, Taeyong was so engrossed in conversation with the others that he didn’t notice the two others sneaking away to the kitchen. After properly disposing the leftovers and cleaning their plates, Mark and Haechan waited for the rest of the kids to finish. 

It didn’t take very long for everyone else to follow suit.

While Chenle and Jisung, the last ones to arrive, were cleaning up their plates, Jaemin suggested, “You guys wanna play pool? It’s been a while.”

“Sure, why not? Haven’t been able to kick your asses in a long time,” Renjun replies smugly, clearly confident in his abilities.

“As if! You can’t beat me  _ and  _ Jeno!” Jaemin retorts.

“Sweetheart, you know I love you, but have you forgotten how bad we are at pool?” Jeno adds, pulling Jaemin by the waist.

“Yeah, but maybe this time is different!”

Renjun snorts, “Alphas and their pride.”

While Jaemin bickered with Renjun, Mark scoots close enough to whisper to Haechan. “Have you played pool before?”

Haechan gave the boy a deadpan expression. “Mark, if I haven’t played the Mario Kart, how do you expect me to know what this pool thing is?”

Mark cackled, the sound of his tinkling laughter reverberating deep within Haechan’s being. The sound warmly enveloping his body, allowing the younger to feel temporarily in bliss.  _ What I’d do to make this boy laugh forever _ .

“Mark?”

All seven of them stopped in their ministrations and looked over to the dining tables.

“Yes, appa?” 

“Everyone come over here, and say goodbye to your uncles. They’re about to leave,” Taeyong beckons, gesturing to the three Exo members. 

They all obediently followed and walked over to the group of adults who were now standing up to greet them. Once they got close enough, Suho spoke up. “We would love to stay longer, but I’m afraid that we have another meeting.

Momentarily, he and Suho made eye contact.  _ Oh, shit. Right. I better go now as well _ .

“Oh, Mark,” Haechan calls out, catching more attention from the others than he intended. “I just remembered that I have to be somewhere before dinner time. I have to leave as well.”

“We can drop you off. Appa?” Mark says, turning to his father in question.

“Of course,” Taeyong answers, smiling sweetly at the two boys. Haechan offers his own tight-lipped smile and looks over to Baekhyun with frantic eyes.

“We can drive him! We’re leaving as well anyways. It’d be too much of a hassle for you guys to leave and come back,” Baekhyun interjects, clumsily waving his hands to prove his point. Indiscreetly, he winks at Kai and Suho, who were looking like they were on the verge of throwing the other boy into a nearby wall.

“Is that alright? My husband and I can gladly bring him back,” Jaehyun steps in, wrapping an arm around Taeyong. Suho chortles at the gesture.

“We get it, Jaehyun. You’re proud of having Taeyong as your mate.”

Jaehyun cheekily grins as Taeyong blushes red. Mark just groans at his parents’ display of affection. 

“We’ll take him, don’t worry,” Suho dismisses, beckoning over the younger toward them. Haechan tried his best to not look excited as he went over to stand beside Kai.

“We’ll see you out then,” Taeyong says, ushering for everyone to exit the room. While Haechan was waiting for everyone to leave, Kai whispers, “You have a lot of explaining to do.”

Before Haechan could react, Kai had moved. Groaning, he followed along, not noticing Mark and Renjun, until they were flanking both of his sides.

“Are you comfortable with riding with them?” Mark asks.

“You don’t have to. Uncle Suho is nice. He’ll take good care of you. It’s Uncle Baekhyun you have to watch out for,” Renjun adds, making Haechan giggle because  _ wow, relatable. _

“When we were kids, Uncle Baekhyun and Uncle Chanyeol would sneak us to watch R-18 movies,” Jaemin, from behind them, cheerfully tells.

“Gosh, when appa found out, he  _ flipped _ and almost stormed into the SM building,” Jeno continues. The topic proved to be a plentiful one, because soon enough, while everyone was telling their own stories, they arrived at the elevator. 

_ I swear the walk took longer last time _ .

“Come back soon, hyung. We still have to play pool together!” Chenle exclaims, bringing Haechan into a hug before the latter could protest.

When he was set free, Haechan made sure to avoid other hands (Jaemin’s) and smiled at them tenderly. “I enjoyed today. Thank you very much.”

Mark stepped forward, wanting to say something else, but was cut off by Taeyong swooping in and hugging the young “alpha”.

“We enjoyed your presence here, Haechannie. I do hope you come again.”

“Thank you for your hospitality,” Haechan manages to rasp out in between the hug. The older sure did have some strength in that lithe body. When Taeyong finally let go of him, Haechan took the time to inhale deeply.

“Don’t be a stranger, Haechan-ah,” Jaehyun says, ruffling the younger’s hair in an affectionate gesture. Haechan, at the touch of an alpha, stiffened at the contact.

Thankfully, Suho was there.

“Come on, Haechan-ah. Let’s go.”

Grateful for the distraction, Haechan slipped out of the NCT member’s range and made his way towards the EXO guys.

“Thank you again for having us,” Kai bids one last time with a bow once the elevator reached their floor, prompting EXO and Haechan to do the same. 

Before Haechan could get into the elevator, Ten tackled him into a hug and whispered something in his ear. He was too speechless at the statement that Baekhyun had to gently tug him inside the elevator. The questions that were thrown at him were drowned out as he replayed the older omega’s words.

_ “Your choker seems nice. Really...changes your personality.” _

  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello i'm sorry for the wait, hehe, it took some time
> 
> here is a list of the families within the pack and they're statuses, including the ones not present, in case it was confusing!
> 
> Jaehyun (alpha) and Taeyong (omega) - Mark (alpha)  
> Taeil (beta) and Doyoung (beta) - Jeno (beta) and Jaemin (alpha)  
> Johnny (alpha) and Ten (omega)  
> Yuta (alpha) and Sicheng (omega) - Renjun (beta) and Lucas (alpha)  
> Kun (beta) - Chenle (omega) and Jisung (alpha)  
> Jungwoo (omega)  
> Yangyang (alpha) and Hendery (omega) and Xiaojun (beta) 
> 
> as always, constructive criticism is appreciated!! hope you guys are safe, well and healthy <3


	7. Start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> after the fiasco with NCT, EXO moves to interrogate Donghyuck

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hELLO IM SO SORRY IT'S BEEN A WHILE
> 
> i was occupied with some applications and I'm also not very good with emotions so this took longer to write than expected huhu. still i hope you guys enjoy the chapter!

Donghyuck was quiet for the rest of the trip. 

Upon seeing the young boy’s state, Suho had ordered both Baekhyun and Kai to hold their tongues and leave him alone. The kid was too lost in his thought to even register the sound of the two members bickering and the worried glances from the leader.

_ Fuck. Ten hyung knows. He fucking knows, oh my god. What do I do? What  _ **_can_ ** _ I do? They know about me. Even if I do run away, they can still track me.  _

As he was on the verge of pulling his hair out, he vaguely remembered something.  _ Suho hyung. Suho hyung can help me run away, right? Uncle Taeyong said that they had more reach, right? So I can disappear, just like that _ .

Donghyuck’s body visibly relaxed, relief flooding his body at the solution he had come up with.  _ Not bad, Donghyuck. Good job. Proud of you. _

“We’re here.”

Donghyuck snaps out of his cheering and locks eyes with Suho, before looking outside the window. They were in front of the Dream building.

“Huh? I thought we were going out for dinner,” Donghyuck voices out, turning his attention to the three men in the car.

“We were going to, but then things happened and now we need to talk,” Baekhyun carelessly states, looking at the young omega with an accusatory stare. Kai hits the back of Baekhyun’s head in retaliation.

“Don’t be so blunt!”

“Hey! Suho hyung! Kai is hurting an omega!” Baekhyun whines, twisting from the passenger seat to look at Suho with pleading eyes.

“You deserved it, Baek. Come on, let’s just go,” Suho sighs and opens the car door, leaving Baekhyun speechless. Kai smugly looked over to the sputtering omega while Donghyuck giggled happily.

“Shut up, brat,” Baekhyun snaps at the boy, huffing as he storms out of the car. The action did nothing to stop the Donghyuck’s fit of laughter.

“Come on, Hyuckie. Let’s get out before they actually get mad,” Kai says as he carefully removes his seatbelt and leaves, Donghyuck following not long after. Baekhyun and Suho were already inside the lobby waiting for them, so Kai took this time to offer Donghyuck reassurance.

“Whatever happens up there, we won’t hate you, okay?”

Donghyuck, startled by the assertion, stared dumbly at the alpha. He had never talked much with Kai back then, so it surprised him greatly that the other would say something like that. It felt strangely nice.

“Thank you, hyung,” Donghyuck whispers right before they entered the building. 

“You guys took too long,” Baekhyun complains once he caught sight of the two entering the lobby. “Let’s hurry. I don’t like the way the receptionist keeps staring at me.”

Donghyuck looks over to the reception table and spots Ms. Ji, a sweet thirty-year-old woman beta who had a permanent grimace on her face. Everyone in the building was scared of her, but Donghyuck knew that she was just a sweet woman that had a hard time seeing.

“I get it, Baek,” Suho exasperatedly exclaims. “Donghyuck?”

Donghyuck stares at Suho in question. The leader simply waves his hand towards the elevator, silently asking the younger to lead the way. Realization washes over Donghyuck’s features and he nods.

“Uh, follow me,” he awkwardly calls out, stiffly making his way towards the elevator. They seemed to view it as Donghyuck’s own space - like it was his, instead of what it really was, a donation. 

When they arrived, Donghyuck fumbled to open the door, the feeling of the three men behind him causing an unwarranted amount of nervousness to come. Once he had finally got it unlocked, he hastily opens the door and proclaims, “Here we are!”

Suho, Baekhyun, and Kai shuffled inside the room, each of them raking in the household. It wasn’t much. The room was an open floor, what was supposed to be a living room only had a couch, and what was supposed to be the kitchen, only had the island, cabinets, cupboards and a refrigerator. His bedroom was basically the same kind of empty - a bed, closet, desk, bedside table, and a mirror.

While Donghyuck was kicking his shoes off, Suho turned to him with furrowed brows. “You didn’t add anything here?”

“Wh-What?” Donghyuck could only ask and stare at the alpha as he closed the door behind him.

“This looks exactly the same as when we came by to add furniture.”

Donghyuck’s gaze swept around the room and shrugged. “I guess. I didn’t see the need to.”

When no one replied, Donghyuck ushered them to the couch. “Do you guys want anything?”

“What do you have?” Kai asks. All three of them staring at him intently. 

“Uh,” Donghyuck hesitates. “I have bread and spread, if you’d like.”

“Is that all?” Suho prods, one of his eyebrows raised.

“I also have water,” Donghyuck answers softly, in a fruitless attempt to pacify the older’s increasingly tense demeanor.

“What? That’s all? You have enough money to buy food don’t you?” Baekhyun proclaims, perplexed at the state that Donghyuck was living in. 

“I-I do, but,” Donghyuck stutters, pausing a bit before deciding to admit, “I’m not used to eating.”

Not liking how his hyungs’ behaviour shifted to one of pity, he rambles, “We couldn’t eat much back then, and-and even though that I’m not with them anymore, i-it’s still hard sometimes.”

An uncomfortable silence settled within them, Donghyuck staring blankly on the floor, Suho carefully analyzing the boy, and Kai and Baekhyun not knowing what to say. 

Eventually, Baekhyun, bless his soul, exclaimed, “We’re gonna change that then! I’m gonna order some ramen from that fancy Japanese restaurant to get you started.”

At his statement, everyone other than Donghyuck gave their order, already familiar with the restaurant. Thankfully, Baekhyun dismissed the worried look on Donghyuck’s face and stated that he had already ordered for him. Once that was done, and nothing could distract them any further, Suho urged Donghyuck to sit down as well. 

He placed himself beside Baekhyun.

“Explain,” Suho demanded gently.

“So, uh, as you already know, I’m Mark’s soulmate,” Donghyuck starts. “While I was showering after PE, Mark and some other people came in. My shirt was on the bench and it triggered his rut.”

“Did you also fall into heat?” Baekhyun asked, eyeing him in concern. 

“Yeah. I was absent for a week because of it.”

As Baekhyun laid a comforting hand on top of Donghyuck’s knee in solidarity, Kai asked, “Why doesn’t Mark know?”

Donghyuck stiffened. Suddenly he felt too suffocated and instinctively removed the choker. The smell of sunflowers and the ocean pouring throughout the room, greeting the others in the room. Unfortunately, the delightful scent was tinged with something sour, causing the pleasant scent to turn into something unattractive. He was anxious.

“I-I can’t let him know.”

“Why?” Suho asks with a slight edge in his tone, not liking the omega’s vague answer and the thought of its consequences.

“Because,” Donghyuck trails off, not knowing if he should admit the real reason or not.

“H-He knows me as an alpha.”

“So? NCT knows about scent changing technology, they’d be fine. Heck, Ten helps us out a lot in our own development,” Suho fires back, the tone in his voice causing Donghyuck to shrink in his seat. Baekhyun instinctively scoots closer to the boy.  _ At least now I know how Ten hyung knew about it _ .

“Hyung, calm down.”

“I can’t calm down. Donghyuck is clearly lying, and it’s fucking hurting my nephew.”

Suho’s gaze deepened into a glare, the protective nature of his alpha overtaking his logical reasoning. “So tell me, Lee Donghyuck.”

The said boy flinched at the mocking sound of his name.

“Why don’t you want Mark to know?”

Donghyuck struggled to get his words out, his breathing becoming ragged as he could feel his fear override his senses. 

“He’s about to have a panic attack,  _ calm down _ ,” Baekhyun hisses, positioning himself in front of Donghyuck as he challenged Suho with daring eyes. Kai took the initiative to snap at their leader.

“Let’s go wait for the food downstairs,” he said, placing a hand on Suho’s shoulder. The leader whipped his head to stare at the younger, flickers of red threatened to overtake his natural brown eyes. Kai’s own eyes reflected the same kind of red, daring the other alpha to make a move.

“Baekhyun, give me your phone. We’re staying downstairs for a while,” Kai ordered, not refusing to back down from their leader’s stare. Baekhyun obliged and dropped his phone on Kai’s lap. 

“Let’s go, hyung,” Kai said, letting go of his hold on the other, and standing up. Suho, still the stubborn alpha that he is, remained seated.

“An alpha has the duty to protect, not only their pack, but everyone else born as a beta and an omega,” Kai recites. “Didn’t you teach us that, hyung?”

A look of shame and recognition passed on Suho’s face. Hesitantly, he stood up and begrudgingly followed Kai’s instructions. He glanced at Donghyuck’s frightened face and sighed, sobering up from his stupor and walking towards the door.

“You gonna be good?” Kai asked, staring at Baekhyun who was still worriedly looking over to Donghyuck.

“Yeah, we’ll be fine. Go to hyung. He’s probably beating himself up.”

“Roger that,” Kai answers, saluting Baekhyun for a bit before following Suho outside the room.

Once the alphas were gone, Donghyuck found it in him to snap himself back into reality. Though the lingering scent of the alphas stuck around, he focused on the smell of rosemary and thyme that the other omega was emitting. 

Hesitantly, Baekhyun wraps one arm around Donghyuck, only to be surprised when the other quickly pulls him in. Donghyuck had buried his head on Baekhyun’s neck, just above his scent gland and took the chance to take deep breaths. 

The younger one was still slightly shaking, so Baekhyun had let him be. It took a few more moments until Donghyuck slowly peeled himself off.

“Better?” Baekhyun softly asked. 

Donghyuck nodded his head meekly and muttered, “Thank you. Sorry about that.”

“Don’t be. Suho hyung is dumb sometimes,” Baekhyun dismisses. “So...do you want to talk? It doesn’t have to be about the whole soulmate thing. Could be about anything. How’s, uh, how’s school?”

While Baekhyun flounders for topics to talk about, Donghyuck watches amused. His heartbeat slowing down as he observes the older omega.

“I-It’s okay, hyung. W-We can talk about Mark,” Donghyuck interrupts. “Just...Just don’t get mad? Please?”

At the sight of Donghyuck’s scared gaze, Baekhyun softens. “Of course.”

“I, uh,” Donghyuck starts, still clearly wary of another outburst, and continues, “I think the universe got it wrong.”

Baekhyun was clearly not expecting that. “What do you mean?”

“My soulmate is Mark Lee - the most perfect alpha there is in the whole world. There is no way that we’re meant to be,” Donghyuck exclaims and looks up at the ceiling with frustration. “The universe made a mistake.”

“I don’t think it was a mistake. You’re soulmates for a reason, Hyuck,” Baekhyun replies. In turn, Donghyuck stares at him with an incredulous expression.

“Are you serious, hyung? You  _ know _ me. I’m nothing. Mark should be with someone worth something.”

“What the-? Donghyuck, you  _ are  _ worth something,” Baekhyun answers, surprised at the indifference in the younger’s face at the harsh statement.

“Hyung, all I’m worth is someone to have sex with. I was born for that purpose and I will always just be that. It doesn’t matter if I’m free or not, it’s the only reason why I’m still alive. There’s nothing I or the universe can do to change that.”

Baekhyun was speechless. 

The boy who was called FullSun and practically embodied the name was staring at him devoid of emotion. The person in front of him was unfamiliar. The way he spoke about himself with such candor had painted the image of a corrupted boy beyond repair.

It was then that Baekhyun realized that he didn’t know who Donghyuck was. He didn’t see the culmination of living all those years treated as nothing more than a tool for sex as the other desperately grasped on to his broken self in attempts to build something whole. 

He only saw what Donghyuck wanted him to see. He only saw Haechan.

“Maybe this is the universe’s way of giving you a chance to live. A chance to love,” Baekhyun carefully says.

“I don’t deserve it,” Donghyuck utters. “It should’ve been Minjun. Minjun is pure. He hadn’t been touched, and he was so  _ loving _ .”

At this point, Donghyuck’s vision was blurry as he continued, “What kind of fucked up thing is the universe to kill of someone so beautiful and leave something so ugly in it? And what? Make them soulmates with the best things I could ever ask for? What a fucking joke.”

“Donghyuck,” Baekhyun calls out, his tone demanding the other’s full attention.

“I don’t know myself why the universe is like this. Admittedly, fate is cruel and leaves no one scarred, but it’s things like this that give us hope.”

“Things like what?” Donghyuck asks wetly as traitorous tears travel slowly down his cheeks, only further reminding him that he was nothing but a mere husk of a person.

“Things like soulmates,” Baekhyun answers simply, causing Donghyuck to scoff sarcastically. The older man ignored him and continued on his tirade.

“I can’t speak for you, but I...I understand. I know what it’s like to feel like you’re worthless. Like all your life you’re only ever going to be is just a useless fucking omega that will never amount to anything.”

Donghyuck, through his tears, blinks at Baekhyun questioningly. Perhaps all omegas are scarred after all.

“But then I met Chanyeol,” Baekhyun said, staring right back at the younger with determination. “Yeah, he was better off with someone else than me. I was nothing but an employee while he was part of EXO. And I did dumb things to stop him from being with me.”

“Like what?”

Baekhyun smiled sourly as he recounted, “I...I ran away. I just up and left Korea and moved somewhere in Europe. It didn’t take long for Chanyeol to find me but I…”

He pauses and sighs. “I pushed him away. We didn’t see each other for two years until Suho had enough and demanded me to meet up with him. For closure, he said, hah, can you believe that.”

Baekhyun’s sarcastic chuckle was quite frightening. 

“But I still went.”

“Why?” Donghyuck whispers. “Why would you agree to meet him again when you were free?”

“Because I wasn’t. I wasn’t free. Every day I was haunted by how much I hurt him. It wasn’t in my plan but I...I fell in love with him. No matter what I did, it was always him I came back to.”

“That doesn’t sound good at all. If anything, it sounds restricting,” Donghyuck replies, frowning a bit. At his statement, Baekhyun let out a peal of surprised laughter.

“I swear I have said those same words.”

When he settled down, Baekhyun went on with his story. “I used to think like that too. Isn’t it stupid that someone you barely know get to have so much hold on you? Like,  _ really _ . I’ve only known Chanyeol for approximately a month and I was willing to give up everything I worked so hard for. That’s insane, right?”

Donghyuck nods fervently, relating all too well to the words that came out of the older’s mouth. Surprisingly, Baekhyun smiled.

“But that’s the thing. I love him. When I went back to Korea and met him again...The moment I saw him again I...I felt like I could breathe again. It didn’t make sense at all, but at that point, I was so overwhelmed with emotion that I didn’t care anymore.”

Baekhyun waves his hand around the air. “This whole soulmate thing is whack. It doesn’t make sense at all. But that’s the point, isn’t it? Love transcends reason. That’s why we’re so willing to die for it. Tell me, Hyuck. Which would you rather die for? The correct answer to a math problem or to love?”

“L-Love,” Donghyuck hesitantly answers.

“Exactly. The universe may have given us a soulmate but it’s love that drives us to do these things. The fear will always be there. We will forever think that we’re undeserving of our person, but if you allow yourself, love will overcome it.”

“How? How are you so sure that love will overpower fear?” Donghyuck asks shakily, eyes frantically flitting over Baekhyun’s calm face for an answer. “How can  _ love _ override a feeling that has been gripping you for so long?”

Baekhyun softly reaches out to cradle the young boy’s face. “Believe in it. Believe in the love that you feel and in the love that you receive.”

“I-I don’t love Mark,” Donghyuck meekly defends, practically melting at the touch.

“You feel it, don’t you? You feel the pull whenever he’s near, and you have to stop yourself from getting closer.”

Donghyuck doesn’t have to think about his answer. He knew it was the truth, so he nods. Baekhyun smiles at him. 

“Hold on to that. Remember that feeling and ask yourself what you want to do with it.”

A whine escapes Donghyuck’s mouth and he pulls away, burying his own face in his hands. “I’m afraid of finding out what I want.”

“Why?”

Donghyuck hesitates. All his life he was so focused on simply surviving and protecting. He never had the luxury of wanting things beyond the essentials. 

He thinks of Giyong and Dongyul, a beta and omega from his former pack that had fallen in love with each other. They were the most adorable couple Donghyuck had known. All the other omegas did their best to support the two. 

They were supposed to run away, get help from the police, and free everyone else. That was supposed to be the plan. 

But they had been found out.

Dongyul was reduced to being a punching bag for everyone to use. Donghyuck couldn’t stand the sight of the beta’s bloodied and bruised body every time an alpha was done using him. Though the physical pain was awful, Dongyul always proclaimed that being forced to watch Giyong be mishandled by the others was far worse than anything he had gone through.

It didn’t take long until Dongyul died from his injuries, Giyong following not too soon later.

Love, Donghyuck had always believed, was a hindrance to survival.

“Wanting things will only get you hurt,” he settled in saying.

Baekhyun hums. “You’re not wrong about that. Wanting things is a difficult concept, but Donghyuck, it’s not wrong to want love.”

“It’s not wrong to want your soulmate,” Baekhyun concludes, and adds, “And I bet your soulmate wants you too.”

“What? No. No way. There’s no way Mark wants me,” Donghyuck immediately refuses, not being able to fathom the possibility that the alpha could see him as anything more than a worthless omega, or in this case, alpha. 

Baekhyun wanted to protest. He had seen the way Mark kept his attention on Donghyuck throughout the whole lunch, but he guessed that the younger wasn’t ready to think of that just yet. Donghyuck had to realize his feelings first before he could understand the other.

“Do you want him?”

Donghyuck stills at the question, his face unknowingly showcasing the fear that he felt. 

“You don’t have to answer now,” Baekhyun reassures. “For now, we should eat. I think Suho hyung and Kai have been waiting long enough.”

“Huh? How do you know?”

“The store isn’t that far. The order probably arrived minutes ago already, but since Kai has my phone and because of what happened a while ago, they’re probably waiting outside,” Baekhyun explains, standing up to walk towards the door.

Before the older can make it halfway to the room, Donghyuck calls out the other’s name. Baekhyun halts in his steps and turns to the younger omega, still fidgeting on the couch.

“Can...Can you explain it to Kai hyung and Suho hyung? I don’t think I can say all of that again,” Donghyuck softly pleads.

Baekhyun falters. “Okay, Hyuck. But you’re going to be there when I tell them, alright?”

“Yes!” Donghyuck hastily agrees, nodding eagerly at Baekhyun’s proposal. The other smiles at him and resumes his task of opening the door.

Just like Baehyun had predicted, both Suho and Kai were loitering outside the unit, one bag of ramen on each person’s hand. 

“Took you long enough,” Kai grumbles, stepping inside and kicking his shoes off. Suho quietly follows behind.

“Well, _sorry._ _You_ had my phone,” Baekhyun smiles sarcastically and closes the door. The three of them carefully made their way over to the couch.

“Hmm, I think we have a problem,” Kai states, staring around the open area, and the lack of proper eating areas. “Is everyone okay with eating on the floor.”

Instead of a verbal answer, Baekhyun and Suho plop down on the floor. Kai, unbothered by the lack of response, simply follows suit and sits between the two Exo members. While Baekhyun took it upon himself to grab the bags and distribute the plastic bowls, Donghyuck awkwardly slips out of the couch and takes a seat beside the other omega.

“This one’s for you. It’s their best seller,” Baekhyun says, handing over the ramen to Donghyuck’s hesitant hands. 

The young boy warily eyes the food given to him. The ramen that he had with Mark was different from the one he was currently holding. He looks at the other people in the room and watches as they dig in without hesitation, some (Kai) even going as far as sighing in content as they eat.

_ It’s safe. _

Donghyuck rips open the wooden chopsticks from the paper cover and decide to try a bite. 

He couldn’t help but sharply inhale once the taste hit him.  _ This is good. What the fuck? How can this be ramen? _

“You like it?” Baekhyun asks, happily looking at the boy who was still munching on a few strings of noodles. Still with food in his mouth, Donghyuck nods enthusiastically, vaguely reminding the other of an excited child.

“You should try the soup,” Kai suggests once Donghyuck finally managed to swallow down his food. The younger obediently followed and took a small gulp from the bowl.

“Woah! Yummy!” Donghyuck exclaims, heartily going for another sip, completely unaware of the fond expressions plastered on the other three’s faces.

Despite Donghyuck’s enjoyment of the food, he could only manage a few bites and a couple of sips before his stomach churned from the unusually large amount it had received. While Donghyuck began packing away his food, fully intending on placing the leftover in the empty refrigerator, Suho stared sadly at the boy’s thin frame.

Kai took it upon himself to gather the garbage and properly dispose of their waste, leaving Baekhyun, Suho, and Donghyuck to wordlessly migrate back to the couch. Uncomfortable with the intensity in Suho’s gaze, Donghyuck scoots closer to Baekhyun, silently urging the older to begin the conversation.

“So,” Baekhyun starts, understanding the younger’s request. “Hyuckie and I talked about the whole Mark situation and I’m going to explain it for you guys.”

Donghyuck didn’t miss the way that Suho’s focus flitted back to him, a question hanging from the other’s lips, but pointedly ignored it and chose instead to beckon Kai over. The other alpha had just finished cleaning up and walked over to sit beside their leader.

“To make it short, Donghyuck basically has self-confidence issues - makes sense given his past - and does not believe that Mark should be with him,” Baekhyun brazenly summarizes, eliciting a smack from the flustered omega.

“Hyung!”

“What?! It’s true!” Baekhyun exclaims, fending off the younger’s weak punches of protest.

“Can you expound on that?” Suho asked, unfazed by the commotion as he continued interrogating sincerely.  _ A leader indeed _ .

Donghyuck and Baekhyun freeze, the former shrinking further back on himself while the older clears his throat.

“I said what I said, hyung. Donghyuck has gone through things that had made him believe that he’s unworthy of having a soulmate.”

Something shifted in Kai and Suho’s stance. They had been too caught up with the present that they had forgotten the past that the young boy had come out from. Donghyuck had been too good at acting that it was easy to fall for the facade he had put on. 

It was easy because Donhyuck’s memories were kept hidden from the world. He had buried the thoughts and hurt deep within his mind, allowing the words to consume his thinking until it had become a part of him.

“Donghyuck-ah,” Suho gingerly calls out, the softness in his tone prodding the young omega to gaze in his direction. “I’m sorry.”

Confusion clouded Donghyuck’s mind and manifested in his face through furrowed brows and pursed lips. “Wha- Hyung, what for?”

“For not realizing it sooner.”

The frankness in his tone made Donghyuck fidget uncomfortably. Out of habit, he laughed awkwardly and answered with false cheer, “Listen hyung, it’s nothing. I’ll get over it.”

The laughter that had escaped his lips were left hanging restlessly in the air. When no one went along, the sound died down. They didn’t buy it this time.

“We should’ve known,” Kai mumbled more to himself. 

“It’s okay, hyung. There’s nothing you can do,” Donghyuck tries to dissuade.

“It’s not, Donghyuck, it’s not at all. You can’t even act normally around alphas and betas,” Baekhyun retorts, remembering how the younger boy would only speak one word whenever someone other than an omega asked.

“I’ve gotten better. I even hug some alphas and betas!” Donghyuck defends himself. He had hugged Mark, and Suho. It was a pretty decent amount, if he may so himself.

“Don’t lie,” Suho lightly scolds, more aware this time around about his tone. “I see the way you act, Hyuck-ah. You basically hid from everyone at the table a while ago.”

“Except for Mark,” Kai adds, looking at the younger thoughtfully.

Donghyuck’s eyes widened at the statement. “What do you mean by that, hyung?”

“You seemed more relaxed around him.”

“That’s absurd. Hyung, tell him he’s wrong,” Donghyuck refutes, slightly smacking the older omega beside him in hopes of the other defending him.

Baekhyun barely conceals his indifference and continues on with Kai’s observation. “You’re right. You talked to Renjun and Mark a lot over lunch.”

“Don’t lie,” Kai abruptly says, stopping Donghyuck from contradicting the other. “You feel it don’t you, Hyuck-ah?”

And what else could Donghyuck say to that? He had felt the pull ever since they’ve met, and it only became increasingly difficult to resist.

“Everyone deserves love, especially you,” Suho claims, staring at the boy with sincere determination. “You are not how you think you are.”

“You are Lee Donghyuck, an omega who has gone through so much and yet still remains bright, kind and  _ loving _ .”

The leader’s words and his tone were too much. Donghyuck could feel the telltale signs of tears burn in the back of his eyes.

“I know you might not see how amazing you are, but it’s true, Hyuck-ah. You’re so much more than those stupid alphas and betas made you to be. I’m sure that the other omegas see you the same way  _ we _ see you - brave, strong and fiercely protective over the people you love,” Suho continues, unrelenting in his compliments despite the sight of the younger’s glassy eyes.

“Minjun loved you, didn’t he?” Baekhyun questions, giving the other omega an imploring look. “If he is how you said he is, then you must be pretty darn special to be loved by someone like him.”

Donghyuck laughs wetly, treacherous tears unwillingly dropping from his eyes. “Stop, you’re making me feel weird.”

“No, we’re trying to make you feel loved,” Kai answers. “It’s gonna be pretty hard to believe, but I’m willing to bet there are more than just Exo who love you.”

“Hyung,” Donghyuck weakly whines, trying his best to be threatening despite how stuffy his voice came out. 

“Hyuck,” Suho calls out. “I know it’s hard but...I...If you want, you can try therapy? I’m not sure how much of a help I can be to quiet the voices in your head, but, I, uh, I really care for you.”

Everyone waits for Donghyuck to answer. The young omega was still struggling to bury the sobs that threatened to erupt from his throat, so when he spoke his voice came out hoarse.

“I...I’m not sure if I need it honestly, but I’m willing to try.”

Kair looked like he wanted to say something in protest, but a sharp jab in his ribcage, courtesy of Suho, made him clamp his mouth shut. Baekhyun barely heard the Donghyuck’s mutter.

“For Mark.”

Baekhyun looks over and smiles softly at the sight of the younger determinedly staring at his clasped hands, tear tracks staining his cheeks. Of course, he wished that Donghyuck would go to therapy for himself and for the betterment of his mental being, but he can’t blame the boy. Love makes people do things, and if this love was going to help Donghyuck love himself, who was he to object?

“That’s great, Donghyuck. I’ll set it up for you in a while,” Suho says, smiling proudly at the younger.

“Okay, hyung,” Donghyuck replies shyly.

“Now that that’s over. Have you been up to date with the memes these days?” Baekhyun asks, effectively breaking the atmosphere. 

Donghyuck laughs again, this time more cheerfully as he answers, “I don’t think so. I’ve been too busy with stuff.”

“Shame! Kai come on, give me my phone, I have some stuff saved,” Baekhyun says, extending his hand out as a gesture.

“No. You’re going to show him recycled Jojo memes.”

“And?! What’s wrong with that?!” Baekhyun shrieks, moving up from his seat to attack the alpha. Donghyuck watches with glee as the two tussle around. His eyes still sparkled from unshed tears, but no longer held the same amount of hurt.

“Why am I stuck with you guys? This is so embarrassing,” Suho moans, further prompting the younger into a fit of giggles. Though the leader continued to complain as the pair continued messing around with each other, none of them missed the genuine happiness that radiated out of the young omega.

Eventually, Baekhyun’s phone was returned back to the original owner.

“Hyuckie, I got it! Hurry before the big bad alpha comes to ruin our fun!” Baekhyun exclaims excitedly as he rushes over towards the bedroom, Donghyuck not far behind.

“Wow, your room is so fucking bare, I can practically steal all your belongings,” Baekhyun states once Donghyuck arrives.

The other merely shrugs. “There’s nothing for me to add.”

“Please,” Baekhyun scoffs and side-eyes the younger. “You’re well on your way to being the biggest drama queen.”

Donghyuck cheekily grins as he answers, “Not my fault you and Chanyeol hyung took me under your wing.”

“So now it’s our fault?” Baekhyun yells, placing a hand on his chest in offence. “This is why they say we shouldn’t get kids. They’re all ungrateful.”

The laughter that erupted from the younger’s chest was loud and bright, the sound of it ringing throughout the whole unit. Baekhyun struggled to maintain the hurt pretense.

“I’m sorry, hyung. I promise to be a more grateful child to you,” Donghyuck cries out, his voice unknowingly going higher and more nasally. 

“You’re so cute when you’re whining,” Baekhyun caved in and walked over to the younger. “I just want to smother you.”

“Ah, hyung,” Donghyuck complains as the other omega pinched his cheeks affectionately.

Just as Donghyuck decided that the cooing had gone long enough, a knock was heard from the door.

“Hey kids, it’s time for us to leave.”

“Shut up, Kai. You’re literally younger than me.”

“Then act like it,  _ hyung,”  _ Kai teases and walks away, leaving the door open.

“Man, Suho hyung always has to cut off my time with you. Possessive alpha,” Baekhyun mutters bitterly before addressing Donghyuck, “Come on. See us off.”

Donghyuck nods and trails after the older. Before they could get near the door however, he grabs the back of Baekhyun’s shirt and halts.

“What-?” Baekhyun starts, turning around to face the other but was cut off by Donghyuck’s admission.

“I do. I want him.”

At the sight of Baekhyun’s confused expression, Donghyuck continues, “You asked me a while ago, but I was too scared to say it out loud.”

Recognition flashes in the older’s eyes. He wants Mark.

“I’m glad you told me,” Baekhyun says, smiling at the other proudly.

“Yeah, yeah. Might as well make an effort before therapy, am I right?” Donghyuck deflects and walks past the other to go out the door. “Hurry hyung, Suho hyung won’t wait for long.”

An odd sense of happiness blooms in Baekhyun’s chest. It was a small step, but a step nonetheless. 

“As if Suho hyung would leave me!”

It took another couple of minutes for the trio to leave. Baekhyun and Kai stalled long enough for Suho to corner Donghyuck into a conversation.

“I’m sorry about a while ago. I’m very protective over Mark and I didn’t realize that my alpha was taking over.”

“It’s okay, hyung. I understand.”

“No, it’s not, Hyuck. I know of your experience with alphas and yet I lost control...I’m really sorry,” Suho continues, his voice wavering towards the end.

Seeing the man that had stood strong for him from the beginning stirred something in Donghyuck. Suho had always reminded him of Jihyun, and it’s absolutely mind-boggling to witness the moment of vulnerability. 

Which is why he moves to pull the other into a hug.

“It’s not your fault,” Donghyuck says, the words he had wanted to say to both Suho and Jihyun spilling out of his mouth. 

“You can’t control what they’re doing. You being here is enough for us. I can’t imagine what life would be like if you weren’t here. Thank you for being you.”

Suho’s arms tighten around Donghyuck’s small frame as he responds, “Thank you for trusting me enough. I promise to protect you as much as I can even if you don’t want to.”

“What is this? A hug pile without me?” was all Donghyuck heard before he felt another pair of arms engulf him from behind. Baekhyun’s familiar scent mixing with Suho’s, completely enveloping the younger in their smell.

Normally Donghyuck would’ve felt suffocated at the contact and would immediately pull away, but it was different this time around. This time he knew he was safe. They weren’t going to hurt him.

“As cute as this all is, can we go? I really wanna go home,” Kai’s voice echoed. Baekhyun was the first to pull away.

“You just wanna go home ‘cause Kyungsoo is back from work.”

“Don’t act as if you’re any better, Baek. Chanyeol is probably back home now too,” Suho quips, pulling away from Donghyuck and staring at the other two with a bright grin.

“Anyway, it’s getting late now. We better get going,” Baekhyun dismisses, trying to act as nonchalantly as he could. The act was in vain, however, since the red that tinged the older omega’s face was a dead giveaway.

“Alright,” Suho agrees, before turning his attention to Donghyuck.

_ Uh-oh, he has his mom look on _ .

“You. You better eat and sleep better, alright? I’m gonna be occasionally checking up on you from now on.”

Donghyuck sighs. It’s no use arguing with the leader when he gets like this. “Yes, mom.”

“I still resent that nickname.”

“Fits you though,” Kai answers. The three of them stand awkwardly in the doorway, waiting for the proper moment to say goodbye.

“Well,” Baekhyun speaks up, “We’re going to go ahead now. Don’t be afraid to call us for anything, alright?”

“Even at 3 am when I'm wondering how the Krabby patty thing tastes like?” Donghyuck asks.

Baekhyun rolls his eyes, “Sure. But call Chanyeol for that one. I need my beauty sleep.”

“Bye, Hyuckie!” Kai bids, opening the door. The other two followed his actions and moved out of the unit. Donghyuck waited until they were gone from sight to close the door. 

Once he was left alone, he debates over the idea that had been planted in his mind.  _ You want to get better, right? You can’t get better if you don’t make an effort _ .

Filled with determinations, Donghyuck opens up the fanny pack still slung over him and pulls out his phone. He quickly opens his contacts and presses call before he loses the courage to do so. It wasn’t long until the person picked up.

“Hyuck? What’s wrong? Did something happen?” the voice on the other end blurted out, worry laced in his tone.

“Hyung, I’m fine,” Donghyuck laughs, already expecting the concern from the leader. “Baekhyun hyung said that I can call you guys anytime, is that okay? I just wanted to tell you something.”

A sigh was heard, before the other continued speaking, “Of course, it’s okay. What is it?”

“Don’t worry about Mark. I...really like him. I will try my best to be better and love him properly.”

Before Suho could say anything else, he hurriedly adds, “Thank you again, Junmyeon hyung.”

Hastily, he hung up, still not ready to hear the response towards his vulnerability. 

But that’s okay. It was a start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not much happens this time around, but the next chapters will have some development! thank you so much for reading my story and I'm really glad that you guys seemed to be enjoying it <3
> 
> as always, constructive criticism is greatly appreciated! :"D


	8. For Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In an effort to reconcile with his feelings, Donghyuck tries hanging out with Mark and his pack

As Sunday rolls in, Donghyuck finds himself feeling better than before. It was rather strange, really. He felt oddly optimistic about the day. No, not the forced optimism that he used to chant like a mantra in hopes that one day he’d believe it, but the kind that planted deep inside him with the knowledge that it will grow beautifully one day.

The only other time that he’d felt this kind of hope was the day of the incident, only to have it taken away in an instant. Though the memory of that night still plagued his mind, it did nothing to eradicate the sliver of hope that he felt. He could practically imagine how proud Minjun would be of him.

For the first time, he pushed the curtains away and opened the living room windows, allowing sunlight to bathe the area in its glow.

“It’s still 9 am. What should I do?” he wonders aloud, not really feeling hungry enough to eat yet. He had finished a good bulk of his research beforehand, leaving him at a loss of how to spend his time. Studying was an option but he wasn’t used to studying before lunch, so that’ll have to wait. 

Eventually, he decides to grab his laptop and move towards the couch. The sun kissed his skin and engulfed him in its embrace.

“What was that thing Felix was talking about? Demon killer?” he mumbles to himself, typing out the words. When all that came up was some sketchy websites, he added the word anime to his search engine.

“Oh, it’s demon slayer?” he says as he quickly navigates his way to a website and clicks on the first episode.

He didn’t know how long he'd been watching, but the burning feeling of the sun's rays began to bother him. As he closed his windows and brought back the curtains, he playfully bid, “Bye, bye sun! It’s my turn to shine in the room now.”

He blinked the strain off his eyes and noticed that he was already in the tenth episode. “Well, shit.”

He closed his laptop and stood up, stretching as he did so. The prickly feeling of hunger clutched his stomach, prompting the boy to walk over to his fridge and take out the cold ramen. Mindlessly, he brought the container to the microwave and set the time.

“Oh, right. My choker,” Donghyuck mutters as he moves back towards the couch area. It didn’t take long to locate the discarded accessory on the floor.  _ Hyung was right. It’d be easy to rob me _ .

The pendant in his choker blinks, a dangerous reminder that it doesn’t have long left until it gives out. He treks over to his bedroom and quickly locates the charger. Once that was taken care of, he spotted his phone lighting up from a message.

Still with food in his mind, Donghyuck grabs his phone and makes his way back to the kitchen. The ramen was warm enough, and emitted a fragrant smell, spurring the boy to hastily grab his chopsticks and make his way back to the living area. Not wasting any more time, he plopped down the floor and began munching on the noodles.

When he was satiated enough, Donghyuck pulled out his phone and checked his messages.

  
  


From: Unknown

To: Haechan

[Sent: 9:12am]

Haechan-ah, you left your bag here!

I can give it to you back on Monday!

  
  
  


From: Unknown

To: Haechan

[Sent: 10:23qm]

Lol, Lucas finally managed to taste your cookies

I can hear him screaming from the lounge room

He’s like a puppy sometimes so I gotta warn you

He might look for you for cookies

A pavlov kind of thing lmao

  
  


From: Unknown

To: Haechan

[Sent: 12:45pm]

It’s official

My entire pack loves you

Lucas has gathered the devil trio and they might personally track you down

As “thanks” they said

I don’t trust them one bit but what can I do

  
  


Donghyuck bit his lip to prevent the fond smile that threatened to overtake his face. Mark was just too adorable.

  
  


From: Haechan

To: Unknown

[Sent: 12:50am]

I’m actually going to meet your whole pack at this rate

  
  


From: Unknown

To: Haechan

[Sent: 12:51pm]

Honestly yeah haha

If there’s anything that binds us together

It’s stubbornness 

  
  
  


From: Haechan

To: Unknown

[Sent: 12:51pm]

Not my cookies? :(

_ Was it too forward? _ Donghyuck couldn’t help but think when his message was marked read. 

_ Whatever.  _

Not wanting to be burdened by waiting for a reply Donghyuck closes his phone and finishes eating. There was still a lot of the ramen left, so he decided to see how long it’ll last in his refrigerator before it turns bad. After cleaning up, he moves back to his bedroom with his laptop and phone.

_ Alright, time to study _ .

Before he could open his readings however, his phone buzzed from a notification. 

  
  


From: Unknown

To: Haechan

[Sent: 13:11pm]

Visit us again and then I’ll answer

  
  


The dopey smile that painted his face went unnoticed by the boy.  _ God damn, Mark.  _

  
  


From: Haechan

To: Unknown

[Sent: 13:12pm]

Wanna see me that bad, huh?

  
  


From: Unknown

To: Haechan

[Sent: 13:13pm]

Yeah

Do you want to get lunch with me and the rest some time?

I’m not kidding when I say Lucas wants to meet you

  
  


From: Haechan

To: Unknown

[Sent: 13:14pm]

Wow, so forward, Mark Lee

No wonder you’re popular among the kids

From: Unknown

To: Haechan

[Sent: 13:15pm]

Lol, aren’t you a kid too?

Anyways what do you say?

We usually line up our breaks at 1 every MWF

From: Haechan

To: Unknown

[Sent: 13:16pm]

Hmmm

Judging by the way you talk about Lucas

I guess I don’t really have much choice now do I

You’re lucky I’m free at that time

From: Unknown

To: Haechan

[Sent: 13:17pm]

Great!!! 

I can’t wait to tell everyone!

  
  


The excitement in Mark’s message did nothing to alleviate the big grin in the omega’s face. Filled with more determination, Donghyuck dives in his law readings and almost burns through them with a single-minded determination. 

By the time he finished, it was already nearing 6 pm. He had finished more than he intended to for the day, and despite the hours spent staring at articles and cases, hunger evaded his body.

Not having anything else to do, Donghyuck drank one glass of water and prepared himself for bed. When he felt comfortable enough in his position, he brought out his phone and was about to play a game that Baekhyun recommended when he noticed an unread message.

  
  


From: Unknown

To: Haechan

[Sent: 15:23pm]

It’s not just Lucas by the way

I also want to see you 

From: Haechan

To: Unknown

[Sent: 18:27pm]

Oho, is Mark Lee being clingy on me?

From: Unknown

To: Haechan

[Sent: 18:27pm]

Yeah, so?

  
  


His heart skipped a beat. He wasn’t used to this blunt side of Mark. Maybe texting really brought out the confidence in people.

  
  


From: Haechan

To: Unknown

[Sent: 18:28pm]

Careful, Mark Lee

You have your soulmate to worry about

  
  


From: Unknown

To: Haechan

[Sent: 18:29pm]

Ah, right

My soulmate

  
  


Something about the message sounded like dejection. Donghyuck stared at the text bubble, trying to decipher what is appropriate to reply with. A few minutes passed until Mark took the initiative to continue the conversation.

From: Unknown

To: Haechan

[Sent: 18:33pm]

Haechan-ah

Do you believe in love outside your soulmate?

  
  


Donghyuck’s heart dropped.  _ Does Mark love someone? _

From: Haechan

To: Unknown

[Sent: 18:34pm]

Honestly?

I don’t know much about love

But from what I heard of

If you love someone and it feels right

Then I don’t see the problem with it

  
  


From: Unknown

To: Haechan

[Sent: 18:35pm]

That’s true

I guess it’s just a lot harder in real life

  
  


From: Haechan

To: Unknown

[Sent: 18:36pm]

I take it the soulmate thing isn’t going well?

From: Unknown

To: Haechan

[Sent: 18:36pm]

Yeah

I’m highkey losing hope

But I can’t tell the other guys that

They’re still doing their best to find him

It’d be a shame to call it off

Hbu? Have you found your soulmate?

From: Haechan

To: Unknown

[Sent: 18:38pm]

No

I haven’t found my soulmate 

And I don’t think I will ever find him

  
  
  


From: Unknown

To: Haechan

[Sent: 18:39pm]

Not gonna lie, that makes me feel a bit better

Almost everyone around me has met their soulmates already

Gets kinda lonely sometimes

From: Haechan

To: Unknown

[Sent: 18:40pm]

I feel you

Jisung and Hyunjin are the worse when they’re together

From: Unknown

To: Haechan

[Sent: 18:41pm]

You know what

Let’s make a pact

Since we’re both basically the token singles of the group

Let’s just stick together

From: Haechan

To: Unknown

[Sent: 18:42pm]

Lol isn’t that what we’ve been doing already?

From: Unknown

To: Haechan

[Sent: 18:42pm]

True true

Gosh imagine if we end up stuck together until we’re old

From: Haechan

To: Unknown

[Sent: 18:43pm]

Excuse you, I’m a blessing to be around

I’m probably gonna have to adjust to your stinky alpha ass anyways

From: Unknown

To: Haechan

[Sent: 18:42pm]

Well you’re an alpha too!

You’re probably way worse than me

  
  


And just like that, Donghyuck finds himself talking to Mark the rest of the night. They continue making scenarios about what their life would be in the future. Donghyuck would be a world-renowned lawyer while Mark would expand NCT to be as big as Exo one day. Together, they would prosper and protect the lives of omegas everywhere.

It was a nice thought. Donghyuck wasn’t going to pretend that the fluttery feeling from their late-night conversation was anything but platonic, otherwise, he’d just drive himself mad from thinking. By the time his phone notified him of his low battery, it was already 2 am. 

  
  


From: Haechan

To: Unknown

[Sent: 2:31am]

Crap, Mark it’s already 2

I have 7 am PE tomorrow :((

I gotta catch some zzzz

From: Unknown

To: Haechan

[Sent: 2:32am]

Oh no D:

Well, you better get some sleep then!

See you tomorrow, Channie!

From: Haechan

To: Unknown

[Sent: 2:33am]

Goodnight Mark

<3

If anyone asked, the heart that he sent was completely due to sleep deprivation. It was totally not because Mark had the ability to strip him down of his guard. Totally not at all.

-

“Haechan-ah! Save me!” Felix bemoans, rushing to hide behind the said boy. It wasn’t long until Hyunjin came barreling down the hallway, dangerously eyeing the omega behind him.

“Lee Felix, I will  _ kill  _ you!”

Felix yelped, maneuvering Haechan around to ward off Hyunjin’s flailing arms. Haechan only sighed and allowed the omega to manhandle him.

“What did Felix do this time?”

Hyunjin stopped momentarily and pointed an accusing finger at the said boy. “He let it slip out that I got a job and now Jisung’s mad since I’ve been lying about my whereabouts for weeks!”

“Well why did you keep it from him in the first place?” Haechan questions, crossing his arms warily. Though Hyunjin was a nice guy, you can never be too sure with alphas.  _ If he so much as hurts Jisung, I’m gonna do something. I don’t know what, but I’m gonna do something. _

Hyunjin pauses, the anger and annoyance from his body leaving his body as he looks down in defeat. “Our anniversary is coming up and I really wanted to surprise him with festival tickets. Some of his favourite underground rappers are in this event and it’s really hard to get them together again.”

“Don’t you already have enough money to buy the tickets?”

“He does. He just wants to go the extra mile and earn it himself since Jisung always does a lot for him,” Felix quips, quoting the alpha’s explanation almost verbatim.

“Ya, you-! Don’t think I’ve forgotten what you did!” Hyunjin yells. Just as he was about to pounce on the other, the almighty Han Jisung struts to them after consulting with their previous teacher about a project.

Jisung raises an eyebrow at Hyunjin, the latter flinching a bit under the scrutinizing gaze. Not even a second later, Jisung turns away and looks at Haechan. “Come on, Haechan-ah. Let’s go have lunch.”

“Uh, about that,” Haechan meekly says, fidgeting anxiously at the situation he’s in. “I, uh, was gonna have lunch with someone else.”

“What?! No way! You have other friends?” Felix exclaims, moving in front of the other to inspect if the boy was lying.

Haechan pushed the nosy omega away and muttered, “Shut up. Of course, I have other friends.”

“It’s Mark isn’t it?” Jisung boldly asks, starting the two out of their conversation.

At the mention of his soulmate, Haechan flushes red and stammers, “Aren’t you late for lunch? Hurry before they run out of the chicken you love so much.”

“I see your change in topic,” Jisung says.

“Yeah, you ain’t slick, Haechannie,” Hyunjin agrees. Jisung’s amused behaviour turns cold once he realizes that his mate was still there and that he was still very mad at the other.

“I’ll go to the cafeteria now then. Have fun with your lunch, Haechannie,” Jisung states, before promptly walking away, not bothering to spare his two packmates a glance. Hyunjin sighs dejectedly and trails behind the omega, muttering his own goodbye as he did so.

“Can’t believe you’re leaving me alone with them for lunch,” Felix complains.

“It’s your fault for meddling in their business,” Haechan retorts, jabbing the Australian lightly in the shoulder. 

“It’s stupid though! Hyunjin could’ve done the easier thing and just tell Jisung but noooo, he’s a stupid alpha that has to do things his way!”

Haechan hums in agreement. “Well, we can’t really do anything about it now. It’s up to them to talk it out.”

“But  _ I’m  _ gonna have to sit with them,” Felix continues whining.

“I doubt that you have a seat left given how long you’ve been talking to me.”

Felix’s eyes widened and he let out a yelp before quickly running to catch up with his packmates. “Bye Haechan-ah! Have fun with Mark!”

Haechan flushes, trying to act unbothered by the glances that came his way. In order to fit in with the crowd, he walks away from his spot and wanders towards the bathroom. Just as he was about to approach the bathroom door, his phone buzzed. 

Quickly, he moved near the wall and pulled out his phone.

  
  


From: Unknown

To: Haechan

[Sent: 12:56pm]

Haehcan-ah!

I’m out of class now!

Where are you? Let’s walk together 

  
  


From: Haechan

To: Unknown

[Sent: 12:57pm]

I’m in the general building

You don’t have to come here

Just tell me where you guys eat, I’ll be there

  
  


From: Unknown

To: Haechan

[Sent: 12:58pm]

Too late :P

I’m here now!

Hurry before we run out of food

  
  


Haechan feels the happy grin expand in his face, but does nothing to stop it.  _ God, why is he so cute _ .

As expected, Mark was standing outside the building. Once their eyes met, the alpha considerably brightened and bounded over.  _ Be still my beating heart _ _. _

“What took you so long?” 

“Couples fighting,” Haechan vaguely explains, falling into step with the other.

“Ohhh,” Mark says in understanding, before cheekily adding, “Aren’t you glad then that you’re eating with us?”

“Gee, I’m forever indebted to you,” Haechan stoically answers, earning a smack and laughter from the other. 

The conversation dies out after that, but the silence that settles between them is welcomed. Unlike Jaemin or Jisung, Haechan doesn’t find it in him to worry about being too quiet or too loud. He was with Mark, and nothing else really mattered. 

All too soon, Haechan could hear someone yelling, “Mark-yah!”

“Lucas!” Mark greets back just as enthusiastically, quickening his footsteps to get closer. Haechan could do nothing but allow himself to get dragged along until the onslaught of scents filled his nose.

“What’s up, man?” Mark happily asks, leaving Haechan for a moment to high five the tall alpha. 

“Didn’t think you’d actually show up, not gonna lie,” Renjun bluntly states. Haechan looks down at the beta and raises an eyebrow.

“I feel the love.”

“That’s the closest thing you’ll get to an ‘ _ I’m happy you’re here’ _ ,” Jaemin pipes up from beside Renjun. “So I’ll say it for the both of us.”

“Glad you’re here, Haechannie!” Jaemin says, giving the “alpha” a bright smile. 

“Yeah, Lucas wouldn’t shut up about meeting you. It was driving me insane,” Renjun adds bitterly, softening a bit as he spares a glance at his excited mate. “Finally, peace has come thanks to you.”

“It was also just a matter of time,” Jeno contributes, carefully eyeing Haechan’s reaction as he does so. 

“What does that mean?”

“I mean, Mark wouldn’t stop talking about you and-” Jeno explains, only to be cut off by Jaemin covering his mouth. Before Haechan could press further on the topic, Mark calls out to him.

“Haechan! Come sit near me!”

Having no other choice, Haechan moved away from the knowing gazes of the trio and sat beside Mark, who was between Jungwoo and Lucas. 

“Hi, dude! I’ve heard so much about you!” Lucas declares. His presence, despite being one seat away, overwhelms Haechan and instinctively, the other finds himself cowering from the attention.

“Xuxi, tone it down, please? Haechan doesn’t know you that well yet,” a soft voice beside him pipes up. Haechan stares at the boy and Jungwoo smiles at him softly in return, the omega’s aura and scent immediately pacifying Lucas’ loud personality.

“Oh, haha, sorry. I was just excited! The cookies you made were really good!” Lucas apologizes, speaking in a more controlled volume. “Xiaojun, Yangyang, and Hendery couldn’t make it today because they’re out on a date.”

“All three of them? Together?” Haechan blurted out. 

“Yeah, they’re all soulmates,” Renjun answers before Lucas could.  _ Huh, I didn’t know that could work _ .

“Man, that must’ve been whack,” he unconsciously stated, imagining how that could’ve transpired. Did two out of the three of them meet the third and ended up being confused? Or did they all just meet by chance one day and had to think long and hard as to which one of them was their soulmate?

“It was! Xiaojun was part of Kun ge’s pack, and it was an absolute mess when he came home one day blubbering about soulmates and which of the two were his,” Lucas explains, eyes twinkling at the memory.

“It approximately took them around 2 weeks to actually sit down and talk it through instead of avoiding each other like the plague,” Renjun continues. “I remember thanking the heavens that I only had one soulmate.”

“You’re just thankful cause you’re soulmate is Xuxi,” Jaemin quips, clearly enjoying how flustered Renjun became from the statement despite the threatening aura that emanated from the smaller. 

“You’re no better! You’ve been obsessed with Jeno since forever!” 

“Yeah, and I’m planning on forever,” Jaemin easily replies, only averting his gaze from the omega when he felt a pinch on his side. 

“Oh my god, shut up you’re embarrassing,” Jeno whines, his face burning red as he focuses on his food.

“Guys, I thought we promised no couple things while we’re at the table,” Jungwoo groans, fixing everyone with a glare. 

Haechan stares when he hears Mark sigh audibly. 

“Come on, let’s go buy food,” Mark suggests, only knitting his eyebrows in confusion when Haechan shakes his head.

“I’m fine, I packaged some food,” he replies, bringing out the packaged sandwich from his bag with a smile. “I can accompany you to buy though.”

Mark slightly frowns. “Is that all you’re going to eat? Have you eaten beforehand?”

“Uh, yeah. Had a heavy breakfast,” Haechan lies, purposely not doing a good job seeing as Mark already seemed to have his mind set up. 

“Okay, sure. Come on, I’m really hungry today,” Mark dismisses as he stands up and walks over to, what he claims, is his favourite stand, the younger not too far behind him.

Mark wasn’t lying when he said he was hungry. The boy had ordered a full meal and additional sides, along with two vanilla shakes. In the end, both Haechan and Mark had their hands full, the younger boy struggling with the coldness of the drinks while the other walked gracefully despite the filled tray in his hands.

“Woah, Mark that’s a lot,” Jaemin states, eyeing the sides hungrily.

“Hands off,” Mark threatens lightly and addresses Jeno, “Is Nana nearing his rut?”

The two ignore Jaemin’s sputtering defense as the beta answers, “Yeah. He’s been bugging me a lot lately.”

“Literally did not see any difference,” Renjun states, Lucas and Jungwoo nodding in agreement. 

Jaemin tries defending himself, only for Renjun, Lucas and Jungwoo to team up and recount the pair’s actions the past couple of days. Haechan watches in amusement as Jaemin’s voice continues to falter, completely unaware that Mark had pushed the sides he had purchased towards the younger boy.

It was only when Haechan had accidentally hit one of the small bowls did he realize how close it was to him. Mark stopped his attempts at pushing the sides back with a simple, “It’s okay, we can share. Here, I got some spare chopsticks.”

“Mark,” was all he could say. It wasn’t the first time the other had done something like this, but it’s different this time around. Haechan actually has feelings for the boy, and gestures like these do nothing to curb his inevitable fall.

“Before you argue, the other vanilla shake is for you too,” Mark interrupts and sends a pleading look. “Please, Channie? You can eat how much you want. I won’t force you.”

“Fine,” Haechan agrees too easily, taking the offered chopsticks in his hands. Mark smiles at him proudly, further increasing the fluttering in the young boy’s heart. Wary at the thought of being caught, Haechan diverts his attention to the pitiful peanut butter sandwich and digs in.

“You and Mark seem to be close.”

He nearly chokes at his food, but somehow manages to swallow down a bite and turns to the perpetrator. Jungwoo stares back at him with an impassive look.

“Uh, I guess,” Haechan says, unsure of what to make out of the statement.

“Mark doesn’t share his food usually. It’s an alpha thing.”

Haechan scoffs in amusement. “Yeah, damn alphas always being so possessive.”

“For an alpha, I like you,” Jungwoo suddenly announces, suddenly reminding the other of his status.

“Ah, the validation of an omega, how fulfilling,” Haechan says playfully, hoping that no one noticed the slight tremor in his voice. 

He was rewarded with Jungwoo’s twinkling laughter. “My name is Jungwoo by the way.”

Haechan smiles back at the older and answers, “I know, Jungwoo-ssi. You’re my upperclassman. My name is Lee Haechan, 1st year political studies.”

Jungwoo’s eyes widened in understanding before a pleasant smile took over his expression. “Oh my! That’s great! Why haven’t I seen you around?”

Haechan internally winces at the question but easily deflects with an excuse, “I have Ms. Ji for POS101.”

“Oh no, you poor boy,” Jungwoo sympathizes. It was well known within their department that Ms. Ji was notorious for being an incredibly difficult professor who gave too many readings, case studies, and quizzes for students to handle. Honestly, Haechan didn’t mind much. In fact, he enjoyed the added workload and wholeheartedly worked hard.

“I don’t mind it much, really,” he confesses. Jungwoo, in turn, stares at him as if he’d grown a second head.

“Oh my god, you  _ like  _ it? I had her for one sem and I nearly died! The only ones who liked her classes were-” the older halts in his rambling as he stares at Haechan with a flabbergasted look, “You’re a nerd?”

“I mean, there’s nothing wrong with that. I just didn’t expect you to be one. But then again, you’re friends with Mark so it’s probably a given.”

Haechan giggles, catching the other omega off guard.

“I like your laugh. It’s nice.”

The younger freezes, the compliment igniting the flame to paint his cheeks. Stuttering, he counters, “Th-Thanks, but I think yours is better.”

Jungwoo smiles at him softly and ruffles a small patch of the younger boy’s hair. “Aw, you’re cute and smart. If you ever need help with anything, you can ask me.”

“Thank you, hyung,” Haechan replies with genuine gratefulness. “Can I ask something though?”

“Go ahead.”

“What made you choose polsci?”

Jungwoo pauses to think before eventually saying, “Not gonna lie. I only went here since I wasn’t good with math.”

Haechan let out a surprised laughter at the unexpected response, causing Jungwoo’s smile to grow bigger. Nonetheless the older continued, “Now though, I think I’m doing it cause I want to make a change in the world.”

“What kind of change?” Haechan asks, a bit of admiration dripping in his tone at the omega’s proclamation. The words meant so much more to him coming from another omega.

“I honestly don’t know yet. Maybe I’m gonna focus on being a lawyer for marginalized people, but then again it’s gonna be hard since snotty rich people will try and tear me down right? So maybe I’m gonna find a good company and take down evil people from the inside. They’ll never expect it”

“Remind me not to piss you off,” Haechan whistles.

“Be afraid. Very afraid,” Jungwoo states threateningly before adding, “Rawr.”

Haechan and Jungwoo stare at each other for a few moments before they busted out in laughter. 

“What’s so funny?” Mark interrupts, looking at them with a small smile. 

“None of your business,” Jungwoo wheezes out and waves him away. “Go back and talk about dudebro things with Xuxi.”

Haechan laughs harder. Never in his life has he ever heard the term dudebro, but somehow it had fit Mark and Lucas well enough. 

“Basketball is not a dudebro thing,” Mark pouts.

“Mark, are you hearing yourself? Hasn’t living with Renjun and Lucas taught you enough?” 

“It’s not! Right, Haechan?” Mark protests, grabbing onto Haechan’s arm and looks at him with pleading eyes.

As much as he loves Mark, there were just some things that needed to be said. “Sorry, Mark. I have to agree with Jungwoo hyung on this one.”

“Nice to know what side you are on,” Mark huffs, releasing his grip from the younger and continues to take a big bite of his meal.

“The side of justice,” Haechan mutters seriously, pride blooming in his chest as he sees both Mark and Jungwoo splutter in amusement.

“Ah yes, the price we pay as polsci students,” Jungwoo goes along, wistfully speaking while Mark struggles to swallow down his food. “By the way, what’s your reason for choosing polsci?”

Before Haechan could say anything, Mark answers, “He wants to be a lawyer for omegas!”

“Really?” Jungwoo asks, eyeing Haechan curiously.

“Y-yeah,” Haechan affirms, feeling smaller under Jungwoo’s scrutinizing gaze.

“That’s nice. It gives me hope for some alphas out there.”

“Do you,” Haechan trails off, not knowing if his question was appropriate to ask. However, Jungwoo looks at him encouragingly and he decides why not. “Did you have bad experiences with alphas?”

“Well,” Jungwoo starts and shifts his gaze ahead of him, just in time to witness Jaemin snuggling up to Jeno. “I used to be bullied for being an orphan. It didn’t help that I was also an omega.”

“People are stupid,” Haechan mutters, frustrated at the thought that another fellow omega had to suffer in the hands of the hierarchy imposed on them.

Jungwoo laughs. “They are. But look at me now. I’ve met better alphas, and life is good.”

“I’m happy for you,” Haechan replies sincerely, a small twinge of envy planting itself in the back of his mind. He tried his best to ignore the negative feeling that reared its ugly head in, instead focusing on the relief at the fact that the older managed to get a wonderful life.

Jungwoo was caught off guard at the earnestness in the younger’s voice. He could only watch as Mark pulled the younger into a conversation with Lucas and Renjun. Something uneasy settled into his chest.

He wasn’t dumb. He had noticed how little the younger ate after Mark had offered his own share, especially since the sandwich that Haechan had packed hadn’t even been eaten halfway. Haechan was bright, that much everyone knew, but Jungwoo briefly wondered what kind of darkness the other had to go to, to shine as much as he did.

“Ah, crap, it’s almost time. My next class in the social sciences building,” Lucas suddenly says out loud.

“I’ll walk with you,” Renjun states, fixing his and Lucas’ empty dishes and trays so that it was easier to carry it at once. Lucas gives a dopey grin at the smaller boy and grabs the stacked up trays.

“Bye guys!” Lucas bids, and leaves once Renjun begins walking away. Haechan stared at the couple’s retreating figure and felt warm at the sight of their interaction.

Renjun was, in the nicest way, not comfortable with showing affection. Haechan has only met the beta two times, but already he could see how Lucas, with all his puppy-like qualities, melted the boy’s facade. They were a cute couple.

Unwillingly, Haechan’s eyes flitted over to Mark. 

_ What would it be like if they were together _ , Haechan wondered, allowing himself to indulge in his fantasies.  _ I’d say something funny and Mark would look at me with so much joy and love, while he laughs unrestrained. Then I’ll look at him with fondness and he’d catch me. Bravely, I would reach out to him. _

Haechan sighed in content at the scenario in his head. It was a beautiful thought - one that had made him realize how much he wanted it to happen, and frankly it was terrifying. Though he had promised Baekhyun and Suho about being more open to his feelings, he couldn’t help the reaction that had been ingrained in him for so long.

“Haechan?” Mark asks, snapping the other out of his stupor. The older grins at him playfully, a tint of concern in his expression as he asks, “Where were you? You were staring for a good few seconds.”

“Ah, it’s nothing. I just thought of something,” Haechan waves off, plastering on a bright smile that was convincing enough for the alpha to believe the act.

“Well, it was nice being with you all, but we probably have to get going now as well,” Jaemin announces, at the same time that he and Jeno stood up with their trays.

“We should hang out more,” Jeno adds, looking specifically at Haechan with imploring eyes, Jaemin by his side with a similar look.

“Sure,” Haechan readily agrees. Despite the turmoil inside his head that ripped at the seams of his insanity, Haechan was certain that being around Mark and his pack somehow felt right. 

“Good,” Jaemin says. “‘Cause if you said no, we were going to hunt you down anyway.”

“We have stat together,” Haechan deadpans, only for Jaemin to grin at him knowingly. 

“Can’t really talk to you in class when your attention is on someone else, now can I?”

“Nana!” Mark exclaims, horrified at the other alpha’s candid statement. At the same time, Haechan flushes and shouts, “I talk to you!”

Jaemin cackles evilly as he walks away with his tray, Jeno following along after he offers the two an apologetic smile. 

“We talk to him, right?” Haechan immediately turns to Mark and asks. The other vehemently nods in agreement.

“Yeah! Bet Nana’s just pissed we don’t pay enough attention to him as Jeno does.”

“Well, I can see what Nana meant,” Jungwoo mumbles, earning indignant squawks from the two freshmen. “I’ll be taking my leave now.”

“But hyung, don’t you have a later class?” Mark asks.

“Yeah, but I don’t wanna third wheel again,” Jungwoo cheekily replies, quickly shuffling away from their protests with his tray on his hand. 

“Sheesh, why is everyone acting as if we’re a couple,” Haechan ponders out loud.

Mark’s face colours bright red and he stutters, “N-No idea.”

Haechan moves his gaze from the spot where the older omega stood to Mark’s blushing face. The alpha looked shy.

“I can tell them to stop if you want.”

Haechan pauses for a moment pretending to think over the offer when in reality he was observing Mark’s face. The shy look in the other’s eyes morphed into one of insecurity, prompting Haechan to say  _ fuck it. _

_ Hm, I’ve been saying that a lot. Maybe that’ll be my life motto. _

“Nah, it’s fine. We’re gonna be single together forever right?” 

The beam in Mark’s face was enough for Haechan to avoid regretting his choice.

“You’re right. We’re gonna have to get used to this aren’t we?” Mark continues, still eyeing the other with some sort of apprehension. 

Haechan knows that something seems to be very odd about their dynamics and the way that their conversations flow, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care. For now, this was good. For now, this is what Haechan wants.

“You’re stuck with me buck-o.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope this was okay! i know the pace is kinda slow but it'll pick up later on! I'll be writing more angst and donghyuck's past in the later chapters, i hope that's okay with you guys ^^ 
> 
> as always, constructive criticism is appreciated! <3


	9. In The Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donghyuck goes to therapy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions of anxiety attacks and unwilling sexual favours. If you are sensitive to these topics, please be aware that this chapter contains those themes.

Somehow, talk about Haechan sitting in with the NCT pack went around for only a day. Midterms week was nearing and everyone became too obsessed with studying and catching up with their subjects that thankfully, the event became nothing more than a faint memory. 

Haechan himself practically began living in the library. He had always been like this. Despite Felix and Jisung’s attempts, he powered through his reviewers and readings, his eating and sleeping pattern worsening. Even Suho, who had made good in keeping his promise of checking up on him, gave him space. It was Mark and Jaemin (surprisingly) that worried over him excessively.

“Have you lost weight?” Jaemin asks in lieu of a greeting, settling down in his seat.

“Well, hello to you too,” Haechan haughtily replies, focusing on the solutions and pointers in his reviewer instead of the burning gazes of the two boys beside him.

“Haechannie,” Mark calls out, the soft tone in the boy’s voice begrudgingly bringing the boy into the conversation.

“I’m fine, Markie,” Haechan reassures, using the nickname that he created for the older knowing fully well that Mark was weak whenever he used it. “It’s just exam season.”

The worry didn’t disappear from their demeanor, but Jaemin backed off. Mark, however, whispered to him, “I know this is not the right time, but ever since the thing that happened weeks ago, I’ve been meaning to ask.”

Mark took a breath before he continued with determination, “Do you want to try therapy? You haven’t talked about the...incident with the old beta, and now you’re just barely alive. Ten hyung knows some people that can help. And I-I didn’t mean to offend you but I...I really want you to be happy.”

Haechan startles at the sudden suggestion. Mark was looking at him so intensely, perhaps already expecting anger and hate from the other, but nonetheless didn’t waver. The familiar feeling of guilt entered his body, his mind berating him for being a burden.

“Oh, no need. A...friend of mine already recommended me to a therapist. I’m gonna go after midterms.”

“Really?” Mark asks, surprise and pride painting his face. 

“Yeah.”

“I’m proud of you,” Mark says, still sincerely looking at Haechan. 

Haechan manages to offer him a small smile, just as the teacher walks in and begins their lesson. Before he could begin listening in class, he sent a quick text.

  
  


From: Haechan

To: Suho

[Sent: 14:31pm]

Hyung

I know I’ve been stalling but

About therapy

How about I start next week? After midterms?

  
  


-

Midterms ended too fast for Haechan to process. All too soon, on a Thursday evening, he finds himself standing in front of the room that Suho had recommended to him. To say that he was nervous was an understatement. Anxiety began gripping his body at the thought of what he had to confront. His instincts were screaming at him to run but, like any other times, he froze.

_Mark_ , his brain reminds him. _Remember, you’re doing this for Mark._

Hesitantly, he knocks on the door and slowly turns the knob. When he got into the room, he was greeted with calm tones and a soothing atmosphere. If he weren’t so nervous, Haechan would’ve probably laughed at the irony of the situation. Instead, he stiffly walked over to the receptionist.

“Hello,” he shyly greets. The receptionist, a woman who seemed to be in her early 30’s, smiles at him gently. 

“Hello. Are you Lee Haechan perhaps?” 

Not even questioning how she knew, he nods. She doesn’t seem to mind the lack of response and just continues, “Nice to meet you, Haechan. Mr. Lee is already in room 514. It’s down on the right, you can’t miss it.”

“Thank you,” Haechan answers, presenting the woman with his own polite smile. He didn’t bother to wait for a response as he shuffled towards the directions that were pointed out. Not wanting to stew in his thoughts any longer, Haechan hastily entered the room.

The room was different from what he had expected. In his mind, he had thought a therapy room would be dark and stuffy, filled with mahogany and books. Instead, he was greeted with warmth and light. It was inviting. 

“Hi there.”

The voice frightened him. Shrieking, he jumped almost ten feet in the air, only to meet eyes with a laughing man that seemed to illuminate brighter than anyone he has ever seen.

“Oh my god! Don’t do that!”

“Sorry, sorry,” the man apologized, his laughter quieting down. “My name is Lee Minhyuk, an omega. I’m going to be your therapist, Haechan-ssi.”

“I thought therapists were supposed to help people, not scare them to death!” Haechan exclaims. “This might be one of those moments where Suho hyung is terribly terribly wrong.”

“Well, there’s only one way to find out, right?” Minhyuk smiles cheekily and waves towards the couches in the middle. “Shall we, then?”

When Haechan finally settled in one of the seats, the comfort that had unknowingly washed over him was broken. Uneasiness once again clutched him, manifesting itself in fidgeting hands and shifty eyes.

“Hey,” the older man says softly, stopping Haechan from his anxious gestures. “We don’t have to talk about it.”

“I...I want to talk about it. I really do.”

Minhyuk smiles tenderly. “I understand. But you don’t have to rush it. Scars and trauma don’t go away just like that. It takes time.”

“Then how long? How long will it take until I’m normal?” he asks, a rush of frustration overcoming him and leaking out of his voice.

“There’s no set time, I’m afraid. It’s different for everyone,” Minhyuk kindly answers.

Haechan sighs in irritation. _This is_ **_not_ ** _how I planned this to be_.

“Did Suho hyung tell you anything?” he questions instead. He doesn’t seem to have any other choice anyway.

“No. All I know is that he specifically requested an omega,” Minhyuk answers and carefully looks at Haechan as he cautiously chooses his next words. “I’m assuming that something happened with alphas.”

Haechan stills. Anxiety now full-on thrumming inside his chest, threatening to overpower his logical reasoning. 

“Hey, hey,” Minhyuk says, realizing the panic attack that was erupting within the younger. “I won’t push you to say anything. You know what, I may not know much but I must say that this whole alpha thing is rather shit, isn’t it?”

“I mean, have you met omegas? We’re so much better! We’re prettier and sweeter too!”

Haechan clung to the statement, a slightly amused smile instinctively tugging at his lips. He tried focusing on breathing normally while Minhyuk continued, “There are only 2 omegas in our pack and while the other is kinda questionable, I’m the best in the team.”

It went on for a while, Minhyuk talking about impersonal stories as Haechan struggled to calm himself down. Every time he had felt the familiar sensation of anxiety, it normally passed quicker than normal. For some reason, here in therapy, it persisted. Something tells him that the frequency and the intensity of these attacks will increase the more he gets in tune with his feelings.

Doubt started planting itself in Haechan’s mind. Did he really need it? Was all of this worth the panic attacks? What does he even get at the end?

Then he thinks of Suho and Mark. He recollects how the two alphas, despite his hesitance and past, scrapped enough courage to suggest something that could help him in the long run. It was only fair for him to do the same. He needed to be brave. For them. For the people that he loves.

For Minjun.

When Haechan finally spoke up, it surprised both him and Minhyuk. “I...I grew up in a bad pack.”

Haechan had given vague details of his pack. He didn’t go into depth about what had transpired the past few years, but at least it was something. He only explained his fear of alphas and betas, and to him, that was enough.

“I’ll see you next week,” Minhyuk states, offering the younger a warm smile. 

Haechan nods quietly. The session had left him feeling more vulnerable than he would have liked. Filled with the sudden need for comfort, he rushes towards the older omega and hugs him. 

Surprised by the sudden contact, Minhyuk stared blankly at the younger, torn between being professional and giving in to return the affection. In the end, he looked at the broken boy in his arms and decided why not. It was clear that the kid needed another pair of limbs to keep him together after holding it for so long.

“You’ll be fine, Haechan-ah,” Minhyuk mutters against the crown of the boy’s head. Haechan’s eyes prickled with tears at the statement, Miyoung’s final words ringing against his ears. 

“You’re not alone.”

-

After his second session in therapy, Donghyuck can conclude that the whole thing was in fact, whack. When he woke up the next day, he felt too emotionally drained. He couldn’t even gather the energy to go to school and be Haechan. _It’s Friday, anyways. I can catch up._

He didn’t do anything for hours, but lay down in his bed and recall his conversation with Minhyuk.

He had talked about the other omegas of his pack. Fondly reminiscing of the tattered band of individuals that made a home within each other, he pointedly left out the circumstances that they were forced in. Though he had only talked about the good moments, the negativity that clung with those memories, kept on tainting his mood. 

Donghyuck looked around his unit, the once freeing sight now felt too suffocating. He desperately needed air. 

Without thinking too much, Donghyuck grabbed his trusted fanny pack and walked out of the building in his sweatpants and hoodie. A particular memory, one he had desperately tried to forget, continued knocking in his consciousness. It took most of his willpower to keep it at bay.

Hastily, his feet lead him to a subway station. Before he could snap himself out of his impromptu decision, Donghyuck had already purchased his ticket and, with the help of google maps, he finally found himself in his desired destination. 

Eurwangni beach, despite the time and date, had a bunch of different people milling around. It was as beautiful as he imagined a beach would be.

As he walked nearer towards the shore, the more his mind screamed at him incessantly. He couldn’t help but get reminded of Minjun, and how his only wish in life was to visit a beach. It was a painful irony that he, the boy who practically had his own beach surrounding him, stood with the sand on his feet while the other, a kid who wanted nothing more than to live unbounded, was buried underneath, lifeless.

Eventually, he closed his eyes and listened to Minhyuk’s words the day before.

“Don’t stop it. Let yourself feel.”

_Feel, Donghyuck. Allow yourself to feel._

-

Minjun was six and Donghyuck was sixteen when it happened. One of Donghyuck’s biggest fears had been realized that day. 

He woke up battered and sore after one hell of a “meeting” with some of the younger alphas and betas of the pack. Normally, he would’ve woken up from either Jihyun or Minjun, sometimes Jaehwa, gently shaking him awake. One of them would usually make it a point to make sure that they’re at least fed or medicated well enough.

It was odd, to say the least.

Donghyuck remembers struggling to get out of his bed until one of the other omegas - Eunjung if he remembers - came to him in concern. 

“Oppa what are you doing?”

“Where is everyone?”

At his question, Eunjung’s face dropped as she bitterly explained, “It’s recruitment day.”

Donghyuck’s heart fell. Recruitment day - the second worse event in their pack, right after invitation day - was today. Potential interested applicants and partners would visit the mansion to get a taste of their pack and the...advantages that come with it. Most of them weren’t as bad as their pack and just wanted to see how it goes, but it still didn’t make it any less dangerous.

And Minjun wasn’t anywhere in sight.

“Where’s Minjun?” he asks urgently, looking at the young girl with wide, panicked eyes.

“I-I don’t know. Last time I saw him, he was leaving the room to get you something.”

“Fuck,” Donghyuck whispers underneath his breath. He hobbled out of the room, completely ignoring Eunjung’s warning calls. He knows that going out there is basically equivalent to more rounds of humiliation and pain, but he didn’t care.

It didn’t take long until he caught a whiff of chocolate and daisies. The pleasant familiar smell soured and twisted at his guts terribly. As fast as he could, he scurried over to one of the rooms and was met with a horrific sight.

Minjun, half-dressed, stood in the middle of a bunch of alphas and betas wandering hands. His beloved younger brother was frozen with his eyes closed. From afar he could see the way Minjun swallowed repeatedly in hopes of finding comfort, a habit he always did when he was scared and nervous. 

“Stop!” Donghyuck screams, catching everyone’s attention. He charges on and limps towards the group, unfearing of the angry gazes that the facilitators from their pack threw at him. “Take me instead.”

One of the facilitators, an alpha he really couldn’t remember the name of, laughed at him sardonically. “Why should we?”

“This one here,” the alpha had roared, placing a disgusting grip on Minjun’s shoulder, “is a virgin. Untouched. Why would we want you instead?”

“Because you haven’t broken me yet,” Donghyuck retaliates. “You used me last night, but look. I’m still standing here and defying you.”

“Isn’t it more satisfying to break something so used than using someone who doesn’t know what to do?” he continues, trying his best to act sultry. He hated it. He hated having to put on an act that would cause nausea to sink in his stomach for days, but he had no choice. 

“Wouldn’t you want me to service you?”

That seemed to do the trick. The recruits’ focus shifted from Minjun to him, eyeing Donghyuck hungrily as if he was nothing more than just a piece of meat. Maybe he was.

Minjun looks at him in terror. Donghyuck could see the boy’s mouth forming into a protest, but he silenced the other with a scalding look. 

“Very well then. They seem to be taken with you,” the alpha says, granting permission for the others to surge towards Donghyuck’s poorly concealed body. Before he could descend to the mess of what is about to happen, Donghyuck silently instructs Minjun to leave.

When the younger still stays in his position as hands started ripping off Donghyuck’s clothes, he sternly looked at him one last time and mouths, ‘ _Go. I’ll be fine.’_

With that, Donghyuck’s eyes closed from pain, fresh wounds and bruises were being pushed to its limit as the alphas and betas ruthlessly continued their ministrations. He didn’t notice Minjun’s lingering presence in the door, the boy watching in misery as the person that he loved was mishandled beyond belief. 

Eventually, Minjun leaves. 

When Donghyuck came to, he felt strangely warm. Instinctively, he looked down at his boy, not expecting his wounds to be tended to and the clothes that draped around his body.

“You’re awake.”

With a lot of effort, Donghyuck moves his eyes to the source of the voice only to be met with Jihyun’s calm face. 

“What happened?” he croaked out. His throat felt parched and his body pulsed with the pain of the past few days. Belatedly he realizes that the blood and cum that was supposed to surround him was cleaned up.

“Minjun was crying hysterically in the room when I walked in,” Jihyun calmly explains. “He said that you came and saved him even when you were supposed to be resting.”

Jihyun was looking somewhere and slowly, Donghyuck trailed her gaze until he saw Minjun’s small frame curled up a couple of feet away from him. The kid was sleeping, and even from a distance, Donghyuck could see the tear tracks that stained his cheeks.

“He waited for everyone to leave before dragging me to the room. It took me _forever_ to get him to stop crying and understand what actually happened.”

Donghyuck hums, not wanting to exert any more effort in speaking. Jihyun looks at him in concern and gently scolds him, “What were you thinking? When I got here you lost a lot of blood. If...if we had gotten here later…”

“It would’ve been Minjun,” was all Donghyuck could say in response. He watches Jihyun’s face contort in frustration at his statement. “I’d rather it be me than him.”

“It shouldn’t’ve been any of you,” Jihyun defies, showcasing resentment that Donghyuck had never seen in the older woman’s face. 

“There’s nothing we can do, noona. You’ve done enough,” he reassures, not liking the aura that emanated from the other. Before Jihyun could retort any longer, Minjun wakes up with a gasp. 

The younger boy was heaving heavily as his wide frantic eyes met with Donghyuck’s own comforting ones.

“Hyung!” Minjun cries and rushes over to him, carefully grasping at the small spots of Donghyuck’s uninjured skin. “You’re alive, oh my god. You’re alive.”

Donghyuck smiles softly at the boy and gathers all of his strength to wipe away his tears. “Of course, I am, baby. I will always be okay.”

“L-Liar. You’re not okay. You were asleep here for almost two days,” Minjun blubbers, his voice turning nasally as snot started running down his nose.

“I woke up, didn’t I?”

The younger was barely keeping it together so Donghyuck, despite the protests of his body, pulled him closer into a hug. “I’m here, baby. I will always be here.” 

Minjun cries harder, holding onto a fistful of Donghyuck’s shirt as he douses himself in the smell of the ocean and sunflowers - a reminder that his older brother really was there. 

Ever since then, Minjun developed a habit of hugging and being near Donghyuck as much as he can. Donghyuck indulged the younger in his affection and went the extra mile to take care of himself after a particular session with their pack’s higher-ups. Not to brag, but he had gotten rather good at hiding the aftermath.

Jihyun took on more sessions and fists for Donghyuck despite the younger’s protests. She wanted to protect him as much as she could, and he couldn’t protest otherwise since everyone else, with Minjun’s conviction, agreed to the arrangement. 

“Hyung,” Minjun softly asked, interrupting the silence that had taken over the omega room during the night. 

“Yes, Junnie?” Donghyuck whispered, peeling away slightly from their hug to observe the other’s face that was illuminated by the moonlight. 

“We’re going to be together forever, right?”

Donghyuck smiles. “For as long as we can.”

“Good,” Minjun mutters, burying himself back into Donghyuck’s arms. “Don’t leave me again, okay?”

-

Donghyuck opens his eyes and is brought back to his surroundings. _Ah right, the beach_.

The scene in front of him was alluring. The sun had begun to set, and the dwindling amount of people gave him such a dreamlike feeling. It was perfect. Too perfect, really. The lull in the beach bothered him and itched at his mind until he took another barefooted step in the sand.

“You left me,” he whispered. The breeze around him blew around him almost like an answer from above. 

“You said forever,” he continues, now fully aware of the sob that ripped his chest. Unwillingly, he crumpled to the ground and hugged himself in a vain attempt to keep himself together. It was probably quite a sight - a young college boy crying his heart out on a beach, a week after the midterms, but he honestly couldn’t care less. If anyone asked, he was failing a subject.

He had only ever willingly cried a total of three times in his whole life. Two from when he was younger and still angry at the pack that he was born into, and one during the massacre. It was clear to say that crying, to him, was never something he relied on. It never brought him the euphoria that Jaehwa says it does, so he just found it useless.

Even now, as continuous cries tore itself out of his throat, he only felt pain. His body screamed at him to let it out - to let the unspoken words come out and reveal itself into the world, but he didn’t. 

Feeling too suffocated, Donghyuck clawed at his throat and fumbled to remove the choker away. He was on the beach anyways, the ocean smell will probably overpower the sunflowers. Finally relieved of the restricting accessory, Donghyuck focused on the scent. He tried to remember how his smell would mingle with Minjun’s when they were close together.

By the time he recovered his breathing, it was already night. 

For a moment, he allowed himself to bask in the calmness that washed over him during the darkness. He couldn’t really see anything other than what was illuminated by the lights from the nearby buildings, so instead, he listened. 

He listened as the sound of the waves crashing to the shore mixed with the idle chatter of the people passing by. He listened to the distant sound of traffic somehow got muted by the swishing of the trees. It was pleasing to hear. The symphony of noises eventually soothed the omega back to his senses.

The constant buzzing of his phone made Donghyuck sigh and reluctantly looked at his notification screen. Concerned messages from Felix, Jisung, Mark, and Suho greeted him, but he couldn’t bring himself to reply to any right now. _Later. I’ll message them later._

Begrudgingly, he stood up from his seat, clasped the choker back on, and started making his way back to his unit.

-

Donghyuck woke up better than yesterday. Though his stomach grumbled at him angrily due to the lack of food (he had fallen headfirst into bed when he came home), prompting him to eat one pitiful sandwich.

What he didn’t expect, however, was a phone call. _It’s Saturday morning. I already messaged Suho hyung last night, what the heck?_ Without thinking too much, he answered.

“Hello?”

“Haechan-ah! Hi!”

_Of course._

“Hey Mark, what’s up?”

The other voice laughed sheepishly. Donghyuck could practically imagine the embarrassed look on Mark’s face as he rambled, “N-No reason! You weren’t in school yesterday and sure you messaged me back that everything was fine, but, are you really okay?”

“Yeah, I am. Just didn’t feel all too well yesterday but I’m good now,” he replies, smiling softly at the sound of his soulmate’s voice.

“I’m glad,” Mark says sincerely. “If, uh, if you want, we can hang out today? The whole gang will be with us.”

“By whole gang, you mean?” he asks, laughing silently at the absurdity of how big the NCT pack was.

“The same people from lunch, but with Chenle, Jisung, Xiaojun, Hendery, and Yangyang!”

“I’d love to, Mark. But I’m still kinda reeling from yesterday so I think I’ll pass. Maybe some other day?”

“Sure,” Mark replies easily. “Just making sure-”

The sound of commotion cut Mark off. He could distinctly hear someone, maybe Jaemin?, shout, “Mark stop hogging Haechan!”

“Hello? Is this Haechan?”

Donghyuck giggled nervously, unfamiliar with the voice. “Yeah. I’m Haechan.”

“Nice to meet you! I’m Yangyang! We really wanted to meet you, but Xiaojun was being whiny-” “I’m not whiny!” “-and we missed the opportunity.”

“Guys, stop bombarding Haechan,” he could hear Mark groan from a distance.

“We’re not bombarding him. We’re just curious,” a voice neared to the phone retorted. “Hello, I’m Hendery by the way.”

“Hello, Hendery,” Donghyuck greets, too amused at the chaos on the other side of the phone to be shy.

“Okay, we’re going to give Mark’s phone back ‘cause he literally looks on the verge of killing us,” Hendery bids, and all too soon he could hear the phone being moved around.

“We’re still going to catch you on campus!” Yangyang shouts, his voice fading away as Mark greets, “Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay. They sound fun.”

“They are,” Mark answers a bit fondly, but immediately retracts. “But they’re also such a handful.”

“I bet,” Donghyuck giggles. Not having anything else to say, the conversation died between them. 

“Well, I better get going. You probably need more rest,” Mark speaks up after a few moments. 

“Yeah,” Donghyuck answers, a bit hesitant at ending the call. “Good luck with everything then.”

“Thanks,” Mark snorts. 

Donghyuck waited for the older to end the phone call, but it didn’t come. Awkwardly he stood frozen and listened to the alpha’s steady breathing. 

“Uh, bye then,” he decides to say, quickly ending the call. He was fully aware of how quickly his heart began to beat, and the red that was probably dusting his cheeks. He couldn’t help but think how nice it would be to be with Mark, comfortable silence around them, and just basking in each other’s presence.

_It’s too early for this_.

-

The day passed slower than he wanted it to. 

He had been trying to do advanced reading in some of his classes, but it proved to be a lot harder than he had expected it to be. Ever since last night, memories kept on flooding his mind, overtaking his mind and rendering him mindlessly passing through the day.

The voices were unrelenting in its harsh reminders of who he is, where he came from, and who he lost. It was like he was in an endless plane of darkness. The only source of light in his empty world was distant stars that represented everything that made him happy - Minjun, Jihyun, Mark, NCT, and Exo. 

He held onto that. Whenever he got blinded by the gloom of his surroundings, he would look up and know. _They’re worth living for_.

When his phone showed him that it was already nearing 8 pm, Donghyuck decided to retire from his unproductive studying session and get into bed. His mind was probably going to keep him up anyway.

It was around 11 pm when he was brought back into reality. His phone had buzzed from a notification.

  
  


From: Unknown

To: Haechan

[Sent: 23:14pm]

Haechan?

This is Ten

Can we meet tomorrow? Before 3 pm?

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello!! i hope you guys are living well during these times! (if any of u are playing club penguin hit me up ;) jk haha unless)
> 
> anyways! i didn't make this chapter too angsty but I'm wondering if...i should make it angstier in the next chapters? or fluff? what do you guys think hehe
> 
> as always, constructive criticism is well appreciated!


	10. A Push

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donghyuck, now more than ever, needs to be brave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions of panic attacks and unconsented sexual photos! If you are sensitive to these topics please keep in mind that this chapter will contain those themes.

Donghyuck’s mind went wild when Ten had texted him. His mind conjured up different scenarios and endings, none of which were good. Safe to say, he didn’t get much sleep that night either. 

Nonetheless, he still followed the address Ten had texted him. It was intimidating to say the least. He was in a really spacious office located inside one of the biggest buildings Donghyuck has ever seen.

Despite all his thinking and mental planning, nothing could prepare him for the scene in front of him. 

Ten was seated in front of a sleek black desk, looking majestic in his suit and styled up hair. Though he was an omega, Ten managed to radiate a powerful aura that threatened anyone that dared to challenge him. But that wasn’t it. That wasn’t what was wrong with this picture. 

_ What the hell is Suho hyung doing here? _

“Dong- Haechan? Why are you here?”

“I invited him,” Ten answered, observing them too close for Donghyuck’s liking. Suho, bless the man, immediately resumed his act and smiled politely.

“Is there a reason? I thought we were going to have a private meeting.”

“Yes. I was going to discuss important matters, and I need both of you present,” Ten answers easily and gestures towards the empty seat beside Suho. “Please Haechan, have a seat.”

Donghyuck gladly obliged, choosing to look at his clasped hands instead of the guarded look in Suho’s face as he stares at the sly omega in front of them. 

“Well, since we’re here now. Why not tell us what the meeting is about? You might be late to your pack meeting after all,” Suho kindly asserts, a slight edge in his voice accidentally making its way out. 

A quick glance over towards the alpha told Donghyuck enough. Suho’s jaw was tense and he was trying his best not to grip onto the fabric of his dress pants. The older was on edge at the situation. Frankly, it unnerved him to see Suho like this. 

Ten simply took a folder that Donghyuck hadn’t noticed before from his desk and waved it at them. “I was doing some research.”

“Research on what?” Suho asked, but Ten’s gaze remained on him.

“On why Haechan here looks vaguely familiar,” Ten answered cryptically, flipping open the folder and carelessly browsing through its contents. “On why a 19 year old kid has a gadget that  _ I _ helped design even if it’s not out to the public yet.”

Ten’s gaze flickered to Suho as he continued, “And why you guys keep messing up his name.”

Donghyuck could only stare, too dumbstruck at the ingenuity of the older omega in front of him. He was pretty sure that no one noticed his choker or the mess ups from his hyungs, but the first statement confused him.

“I don’t see where this is going,” Suho answers cooly, still keeping up his calm facade even if Donghyuck knows that deep down, the elder was freaking out.

Ten basically threw the folder back on his desk, leaving the two boys to stare blankly at the content. 

_ Fuck _ , Donghyuck thinks, already feeling the panic rise in his chest. 

“Lee Donghyuck,” Ten recites. The name he had tried hiding from the exact same people he didn’t want to find out, was glaring at him from the paper. In the folder was an invitation - the same kind of paper that they sent out to the Lee’s business partners.

After their first few attempts at connecting with their business partners into their sick form of entertainment, the head alpha thought to add...intimate details about the omegas they had to entice them. Donghyuck remembered that day. They had him in humiliating poses and unashamedly took pictures of his fourteen year old body, before ravaging him themselves. 

“Where did you get that?” Suho asked acidly, slowly giving up in maintaining a civil conversation.

“When I first learned about the Lee pack a couple of years ago, I was  _ livid _ . I couldn’t believe that there was a pack that treated omegas like shit, and it pissed me off even more to know that  _ you guys _ , out of all people, were partners with them.”

Ten’s eyes narrowed as he continued to recall, “Since Johnny was close with Sehun, I complained and berated him a lot. In the end, I annoyed enough Sehun to browse through the documents back then. I’m not a religious person but I remember praying to each and every omega I saw.”

“Now though,” Ten stalls, before continuing in a condescending tone, “Since the Lee pack is gone now, I managed to get the documents for myself. It was a bitch to scavenge through your archives though.”

The scornful look in Ten’s face shifted to something more muted - pleading maybe - and looked at Donghyuck imploringly. “So, Donghyuck, care to explain?”

And because Donghyuck is Donghyuck, his nervous addled brain had him blurting out, “Donghyuck? Who’s that? I don’t know a Donghyuck.”

Ten stared at him impassively. The silence of the other doing nothing to relieve him of the panic that had settled in his nerves.

“It’s none of your business, Ten,” Suho speaks up in the younger’s defense.

“It is my business,” Ten sharply retorts, and proceeds to recount a detail from the document. “Lee Donghyuck, scent, ocean and sunflowers.”

“If I can recall, that is exactly who Mark is looking for. His soulmate,” the omega continues, staring at Donghyuck challengingly. “So tell, me Lee Donghyuck. Why are you doing this?”

Donghyuck’s throat burned. He kept swallowing down his saliva in hopes of satiating the dryness that he felt and managed to croak out, “Doing what?”

“Why are you pretending to be Lee Haechan, the alpha?”

“Ten, you saw the photos and evidence. Donghyuck lives alone. He  _ had  _ to do it,” Suho explains, exasperated on how hell bent the other seemed to be in fixing the situation.

“Yes,  _ hyung. _ I understand that. I know that it’s not easy to deal with everything and I’m glad that Donghyuck started therapy, but,” Ten appeases. “What I  _ don’t  _ understand is why he’s leaving Mark in the dark of everything. They’re soulmates for crying out loud.”

“You know damn well how complicated being soulmates can be. Don’t act like you and Johnny were any better,” Suho quickly retaliates. The topic seemed to be a sore spot for Ten, because the latter looked as if he was about to explode. It was Donghyuck’s statement that prevented the two older men from dissolving into an argument.

“Mark shouldn’t be my soulmate.”

“What?” Ten asks, not realizing how keen his voice was until the younger flinched. “I’m sorry, but can you explain?”

“I’m,” Donghyuck hesitates. “I’m too damaged. Mark deserves to be with someone better, but since we’re soulmates I’m trying to be better before he knows.”

That seemed to soften something in Ten. “That’s fair.”

“But he still needs to know.”

Donghyuck stares at the older omega’s determined face and splutters, “But I-I’m not yet ready. Mark can’t see me like this.”

“Sweetie, you will never be ready. Mark won’t mind having you the way you are right now. He’ll wait for you and be with you every step of the way, because you bring him happiness and love that none of us can offer him.”

“H-Hyung, I just...I can’t…” Donghyuck trails off, not knowing how to respond to the other’s statement without revealing any more of his insecurity. Ten, thankfully, didn’t push further but he stood firm in his belief.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell him right now,” Ten says. “But you have to tell him before the semester ends. That’s all I can give you.”

“But-” Donghyuck tries to protest.

“I’m sorry, Donghyuck. Not knowing your soulmate is not only emotionally draining, but also physical. Mark’s ruts are getting worse every month and he needs to get better,” Ten cuts off, not leaving any room for argument. “You understand where I’m coming from, yes?” 

Donghyuck took some time to process the older’s words. His heat has been definitely getting harder to get by ever since the revelation, he couldn’t even imagine how much worse it’d be.  _ This whole soulmate thing is whack. I hate these rules _ .

“Donghyuck?”

Donghyuck snaps out of his thinking and meets Ten’s prodding eyes. Slowly, he nods. 

Ten smiles at him kindly and says, “I hate doing this to you, but I’m just looking out for Mark. I hope you tell him soon.”

The realization of what he has to do begins to settle in. Donghyuck wasn’t ready at all. He had only gone to two sessions of therapy and even that hadn’t helped him much. Heck, he hadn’t even begun speaking to Minhyuk about his past when he was supposed to, what more with Mark?

“Hyuckie,” he vaguely hears Suho call out to him. “It’s gonna be fine.”

Donghyuck couldn’t process the concern and worry of the others in the room. Anxiety has taken a hold of him already, and he really needed to get out of people’s prying eyes. 

“Bathroom,” he muttered and hastily left the room, despite not knowing where he was headed. Mechanically, his feet moved, other employees looked at him worriedly but didn’t do anything to stop the boy from moving. 

Before Suho could chase after the young omega, Ten stops him.

“Hyung, you know I’m only doing this for them. Soulmates are meant to know each other, otherwise it’ll affect them severely.”

Suho sighs. “I know, Ten. I just hate that Donghyuck grew in such a vile place that it’s hurting his chances in living.”

“I wish that I could’ve done something to help them,” Ten whispers, his facade giving way to something more vulnerable. 

“I wish I did too. If only we got hold of their stockholders earlier.”

The two of them stare at each other, regret and self-loathing painting their faces. The thought that they could’ve done something, anything, to help Donghyuck and his friends from the shit that they had to go through, plagued their minds. 

In the end, Ten exhaled and said, “Mark likes him you know.”

The sight of Suho’s confused expression, Ten continued, “Lucas came to me one night, torn as heck. Apparently, Mark opened up to the kids that he has a crush on Haechan, and he’s absolutely  _ terrified _ of it because, in Lucas’ words, it makes him forget about his soulmate.”

Stunned at the admission, Suho could on manage to ask, “What did you say?”

“I told him that Mark should be careful. The whole soulmate thing is complicated, and the universe can be unforgiving when it comes to it,” Ten responded and softened as he added, “But if it’s the path that Mark chooses, he should go wholeheartedly towards it, no matter the consequences.”

“It seems he made his choice. I’ve never seen him happier,” Ten finishes, tenderly reminiscing the young alpha’s attitude the past few days.

“Donghyuck too. Everytime I called or texted, he sounded brighter.”

“I want them to be happy. It’s the least we can do.”

“Yeah.”

A beat of silence passed before Ten stood up and announced, “Well, I guess that ends our meeting. You better check on Haecha- Donghyuck? Whatever. Please check on him. He can’t have gotten far.”

“Will do,” Suho responds, standing up as well. 

“Let’s work together alright?” Ten asked just as they were at the door.

“Of course. They’re basically our children.”

Ten chuckles. “Taeyong and Jaehyun will hate us.”

“What can Jaehyun do, huh? Tell on me?”

“He just might,” Ten light heartedly agrees. “Well, I gotta go. It’s almost 5 and the traffic is gonna be hell.”

Suho nods amicably. “Send my greetings to everyone. Hope you’re all well.”

“Sure thing. If you need help, you can ask Jinu.”

“Okay, see you soon.”

-

It took an embarrassingly long time for Suho to locate Donghyuck. He had hoped that he would be able to find the younger boy by himself, after all, he was already familiar with the building, but the omega had seemed to disappear. Eventually, very hesitantly, he approached Jinu’s cubicle.

“Hello, did you see where the young boy ran off to?”

“Hello, Suho-ssi. Don’t worry, Ten-ssi had already informed me about the possibility of a young boy wandering around the building, and I’ve assigned someone to trail behind him in case of an emergency. They are currently going up to the 33rd floor.”

“33rd? We’re on the 21st floor!” 

Jinu nods. “Yes. Apparently, the boy seems to be determined to reach the rooftop for some air.”

“But there  _ is _ no rooftop!”

“Yes, sir. Would you like me to instruct our employee to intervene with his direction?”

“Yes, but don’t be too harsh. Lead him to the bathroom nearby and  _ please _ be subtle about it.”

“Of course,” Jinu states before promptly taking out his phone and calling someone, the employee Suho assumes. Suho impatiently waited for Jinu to finish talking, shifting his foot endlessly as he tried to calm down his nerves.

“Suho-ssi?” Jinu calls out, effectively snapping the other from his reverie. “We managed to lead him to the bathroom near the conference room at the 33rd floor. You may go if you wish.”

Jinu’s last statement went over Suho’s head, as he muttered out a “Thank you,” and hastily made his way to the elevator.

The ride up took longer than he had expected it to be. In Suho’s humble opinion, the elevator was slower than average. He was going to have to talk to Jaehyun about upgrading their facilities. 

“Finally,” he muttered as they hit the 33rd floor. Hastily, Suho made his way towards the direction of the conference room. When he saw a guy loitering nearby (he vaguely recognized him as Jinu’s assistant), he made sure to offer the guy a polite smile.

“Thank you. You can go back now, I’ll take it from here.”

The guy bowed slightly and quietly exited from the premises, already aware of Suho’s frantic state. Without further hesitation, the leader entered the bathroom nearby. He could hear the faint sounds of someone taking sharp gasps of air.

“Hyuckie?” Suho softly calls out, making sure to lock the door behind them to ward off possible intruders. The boy hidden in one of the stalls quieted down, almost as if waiting for the other to disappear.

“Donghyuck, it’s me, Suho,” the older man continued. “I know you’re terrified of what Ten said, but it’s okay. Whatever happens, I’m here for you.”

“N-No,” the omega weakly replies. 

“I am, sweetie. I’m not going anywhere.”

“M-Mark’s your nephew. H-he’s your family not me.”

The feeble yet sure tone of the younger one broke Suho’s heart. A pang of guilt flooded his chest, remembering the confrontation all too well. It hurt more that Donghyuck’s fears weren’t unfounded. 

“You’re family too, Donghyuck-ah,” Suho answers, hoping that his voice conveyed his sincerity.

“Hyung,” Donghyuck responds, more stable this time. “Don’t...Don’t say that please. Don’t say things you don’t mean.”

“But I do, Hyuck. I care for you and I’ll protect you just as much as I'll protect Mark.”

“No!” Donghyuck shouted, banging the door of the stall open and stared at Suho with raw sadness, fear, and anger. “Don’t do this to me, hyung! Don’t say things like that when you’re going to leave!”

“I’m not gonna leave, Donghyuck,” Suho calmly responds, despite the sound of his heart breaking at the storm of emotions that whirled around the younger boy’s face. 

“That’s what Minjun said. That’s what Jihyun noona said. That’s what everyone said! And where are they, huh? Where are they hyung?!” Donghyuck shouted, the hurt that he had been trying to keep down finally releasing and baring itself to the first alpha that had shown him kindness. 

“The Lee pack is gone. They won’t be able to take any more of your loved ones, Donghyuck. I’m not going anywhere. I promise,” Suho answers, struggling to keep the waver out of his voice. 

“How are you so sure, hyung? How will I know that I’m going to wake up the next morning and everyone else will be dead again?” Donghyuck continues, the initial angry facade he had put on melting away, leaving only a kind of sadness that had been built from months of sleepless nights.

Donghyuck’s eyes bore itself into Suho’s mind. It was nothing but a glimpse of the years of trauma and abuse the younger had seen, and still, it had Suho reeling. 

“I’m scared, hyung,” Donghyuck admits. His limbs wrapped itself around his lithe body instinctively in a vain attempt to protect himself from the vulnerability he had showcased.

Suho moved to pull the younger into a hug, but stopped when Donghyuck flinched and took a step back - a silent reminder that Suho was still an alpha, and that Donghyuck was still recovering.

“Sorry,” the leader muttered. A tense silence followed as Suho took some time to gather his thoughts before responding. “I’m not going to lie, I don’t know what’ll happen in the future.”

Donghyuck, who had considerably calmed down from before, looked at the other intently, but Suho continued, “I can’t promise how long I’m going to live nor that I’ll be safe all the time, but what I  _ can  _ promise is that for as long as it takes, I’m going to be with you. I said it before, and I’ll say it again, you’re like a family to me.”

“You’re such a sap, hyung,” Donghyuck mumbles, his senses finally coming back to him and pushing him to break the atmosphere with a playful comment.

Not wanting to overwhelm the younger any further, Suho took the distraction in stride. “Well what can I say? I should welcome my nephew’s soulmate with open arms, right?”

Unwillingly, Donghyuck flushes and whines, “Hyung, shut up. He’s not into me like that!”

Suho wanted to laugh and relay what Ten told him a while ago, but kept his mouth shut. It wasn’t his secret to tell. “But  _ you’re  _ into him like that, yeah?”

“Fuck off, hyung! I’m leaving!” Donghyuck shouts, red dusting his cheeks as he steps around Suho. The latter only chuckles and follows the younger’s movements.

“Come on, I’ll drive you back.”

Donghyuck grumbles under his breath in faux annoyance as the leader happily teased him about his not so subtle crush on his soulmate. Though the fear was still there, Donghyuck couldn’t help but feel a bit better. 

He’s still not sure about trusting the a wholeheartedly but Suho, despite being an alpha, had shown him nothing but kindness so far.  _ Maybe.  _

_ Maybe everything will be okay. _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter done! There's only a few more to go, and I'm really excited to do the confrontation hehe. 
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed reading, and as always, constructive criticism is greatly appreciated <3


	11. Retreat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When things get too much, Donghyuck can't help but run away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO IM SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG! I've been busy with other commitments, and I'm sorry if this chapter isn't what you expected. 
> 
> TRIGGER WARNINGS: This chapter depicts panic attacks and anxiety, so if you're sensitive to those themes, please do keep that in mind before reading. 
> 
> Without further ado, on to the story!

It was hard.

No matter how many times Donghyuck had tried, the words refused to escape his lips. It had been some weeks (he wasn’t counting anymore) since he had met up with Ten, yet he was still nowhere near letting Mark know the truth. The looming reminder of what he has to do had his already bad eating and sleeping habits worsen as time passed. 

Now, along with finals and an incoming heat, it was practically non-existent.

He was content with having a few bites of his sandwich for the whole day but, to act normal around his friends, he had to force-feed himself to finish his meal, only to rush to the bathroom once he was alone and get rid of the excess. He somehow managed to stagger throughout the semester without alerting anyone, not even his therapist.

He could practically feel his vibrancy fading away, but he didn’t care. Anxiety has gripped his mind and refused to leave him alone. It haunted him no matter his efforts at keeping them at bay. Being around Mark was the only time he felt like he could breathe, but sometimes, not even that is enough. 

“Thank fuck this semester is over,” Jisung groans as the two of them exited their POS101 exam. “I don’t think I can stand being here any longer.”

Haechan giggles, “At this rate, you won’t be in school either next year.”

“Well sorry, not all of us can be as smart as you,” Jisung huffs as they join the horde of students who either just finished an exam or is about to have an exam running around the hallway. 

“I’m not smart. I just study a lot.”

“That’s even more impossible! Sometimes, I swear you’re like an A.I,” Jisung retorts, quickly dropping the conversation when he spots Hyunjin standing near the wall, clearly waiting for them. After their big fight, Jisung had called him up crying and spluttering when Hyunjin finally revealed, with a lot of pride despite apologizing, the concert tickets he had bought for them. 

He received another hysterical call from the omega when, after the concert, Hyunjin surprised him with a promise ring and a really cheesy speech. Ever since then, the two had become a lot clingier than usual, thankfully allowing his little slip-ups to go unnoticed by the couple. 

Bitterly, he recalls how they would display their affection during their group study’s, the scene only reminding him of what he could have if he just weren’t so  _ goddamn broken. _

“Hey babe, were you waiting long?” Jisung asks, planting a chaste kiss on his mate’s cheek. 

Hyunjin just grins at him softly and replies, “Not really. But we better hurry, Felix is getting antsy.”

“He didn’t have to go ahead to the bowling alley. He could’ve waited with you,” Jisung complains, the three of them already making their way through the main campus road. 

“I don’t know, said that he didn’t want to third wheel,” Hyunjin shrugs. 

“Haechan’s coming with us! He’s literally  _ not  _ going to third wheel,” Jisung exclaims, briefly pointing at Haechan who was busy minding his own business. If the “alpha” was being honest, he would’ve skipped hanging out with them. He feels utterly exhausted and disoriented, his body practically begging at him for proper care, but he resisted. 

It didn’t help that his choker was only sixty percent charged when he left and already declining as the day passed by (he’s been somehow forgetting to keep the accessory fully charged the past few weeks). Though it was still able to last the rest of the day, it was still very risky for him to go out.  _ The things he do for his friends. _

“Don’t look at me, I don’t know how his mind works,” Hyunjin replies, throwing both his hands up in surrender. The two eyeing the quiet boy beside them carefully, but nonetheless continued their banter. They weren’t  _ that  _ dumb. 

They’ve noticed how more reserved and quiet Haechan has gotten over the past few weeks, his attitude eerily similar to how he was when they first met each other. No, Jisung would argue, Haechan was even more closed off now. Despite discussing with Hyunjin and Felix about their friend, they couldn’t think of a possible cause for Haechan’s withdrawal, so they decided to let it be, hoping that it soon will pass.

Their only source of comfort was that at least, around Mark, their friend seemed to loosen up a little.

So when the sound of Haechan yelping and boisterous laughter entered Jisung’s ears, he couldn’t find it in himself to be annoyed at the disruption.

“Yangyang can you  _ please  _ stop harassing Haechan every time you see him?” Jaemin groans, grabbing the said boy by the back of his shirt and pulling him away from a frazzled Haechan.

“It’s not my fault! I don’t get to see him much in the first place!”

“Probably ‘cause you practically ambushed Haechan after their stat class the first time we met,” Xiaojun points out, earning an amused laughter from Hendery.

“My own mates! Betraying me!” Yangyang whines, dramatically leaning over to Jeno as he clutches his chest.

“Hello?” Jisung calls out, snapping the newcomers away from their banter to pay the omega attention. “What are  _ you _ guys doing here? We have to get going before Felix actually starts yelling at us.”

“Not our fault, Mark wanted to catch you guys before the semester ends,” Jaemin answers. 

“Then where’s Mark?” Hyunjin asks, raising an eyebrow in question when the alpha was nowhere in sight.

“The idiot is almost in his rut. Lucas, Renjun, and Jungwoo hyung are walking with him from the science building,” Hendery explains, rolling his eyes to emphasize how much he disapproves of their packmate’s choice. 

“Didn’t he finish his final exam this morning?” Haechan blurts out, eyes widening in concern when Hendery gives him a nod. “Why is he still here? Shouldn’t he have gone home?”

“That’s what we were saying! We  _ tried  _ getting him back home since his ruts are getting really bad. Like, last month he freaking reached 40-degree celsius and kept vomiting whatever he ate. Uncle Jaehyun and Uncle Taeyong basically had to rush him to the hospital a lot of times. The doctors there know them by now,” Yangyang rambles, clearly distressed over Mark’s wellbeing.

“The heck?! Ruts aren’t supposed to be like that!” Hyunjin shouts, evidently disturbed at the anomaly. Haechan stares at the group with furrowed eyebrows, hoping with all his might that it was just some elaborate joke. 

“It isn’t,” Jaemin agrees solemnly. “The doctors say it’s because his body, already being triggered by his soulmate, is malfunctioning. The wolf inside him is restless, desperate to at least  _ know _ who his soulmate is so when his ruts come, it’s hella bad.”

“So if he doesn’t know who it is,” Haechan trails off, not liking the way his mind wandered.

“The fever will only continue and get worse until the human body won’t be able to handle it,” Xiaojun supplies, the confirmation only weighing Haechan down even more. 

_ So this is what Ten hyung means.  _

The thought that Mark could possibly die because of his cowardice overtakes everything else in his mind. His choice...his deception...can end the life of the person he’s destined to be with.  _ They all die. Everyone I love and care for….they all die because of me. _

Haechan was too deep in his self-loathing and pity, that the conversation between Jeno and Hyunjin completely flew over his head. 

“If it’s that bad, why is he still here?” 

Jeno spares a glance at Haechan before answering, “He  _ really  _ wanted to see someone before the semester ended.”

The look didn’t go unnoticed by Hyunjin but he didn’t bring it up. At this rate, the attraction between Mark and Haechan was obvious to everyone within their circle. They just never talked about it since there was the issue of Mark’s missing soulmate.

“Love really does blind you,” Hyunjin opts to say instead.

Before they could continue their conversation, the thickening scent of cedarwood and lavender invaded their senses. Haechan, who was lost in thought, snapped his head towards the approaching figures and barely managed to catch the alpha that threw himself onto him.

“Mark!” he exclaimed, shocked by the outright display of affection from the older. 

“Channie! I missed you! I haven’t seen you in so  _ long! _ ” Mark whines, completely ignoring Haechan’s flustered demeanor in favour of snuggling closer to the other’s neck. Hurriedly, the younger tries to move away from Mark’s hold when the alpha gets dangerously close to his scent gland. He doesn’t know how well the choker does in masking his smell, but he’d rather not take the chance.

“Just let him. Mark’ll only cry if you push him away,” Renjun sighs, running a tired hand through his hair. He was clearly exhausted from his exams and taking care of Mark. Lucas, being the good mate that he is, pulled the smaller closer to him and allowed Renjun to subtly lean on him for support.

“Didn’t expect Mark Lee to be the clingy type during his ruts,” Jisung teases, enjoying the way Haechan seems to be struggling between basking in the affection and pushing the other away.

“He’s not usually. Ever since the soulmate thing, he’s been latching onto everyone. His wolf side is trying to find someone,” Lucas explains.

“That’s sad,” Jisung sympathizes. 

“More like annoying,” Xiajun snorts, earning a light smack from Hendery. “What? He almost kissed Yangyang once!”

Hendery frowns at the memory. “You’re right, but you don’t have to say it out loud.”

“But you were thinking it!” Yangyang chimes in, hoping that the white chicks reference would ease the bitterness that settled between his two lovers. He only got deadpan expressions in return.

“You guys could at least go along with it,” Yangyang grumbles, crossing his arm in annoyance. “What kind of mates are you?”

While the three of them continue with their banter, Jisung receives a slew of texts from a very impatient Felix. 

“Crap,” he mutters, and quickly gets the attention of his two other friends. “Guys, we have to go, Felix is going bananas.”

“Where you guys going?” Jaemin asks.

“We’re going to the mall bowling alley, maybe the arcade after. Not sure yet,” Hyunjin answers, cutting off his mate before he could reply.

“Can I come with you?” Mark pleads, looking at Haechan with his best puppy dog expression. Haechan, on the other hand, frantically looks over to the amused group and silently begs for someone to help.

“Now, now, Mark. Haechan has to go with his friends,” Jaemin says patronizingly, not bothering to hide the mocking smirk that made its way on his face.

“But I’m friends with Haechan! I should come along too!” Mark cries and stares back at Haechan with an imploring look. “Right? I’m your friend?”

“Of course you are,” Haechan sincerely replies, focusing on the way Mark’s face brightens at his statement instead of his friends’ wiggling brows

“Great! So I’m coming along!” Mark cheerily states, linking their arms together. Haechan looks at Hyunjin and Jisung hoping that the begging look on his face was enough to convince them to allow the alpha to tag along. Begrudgingly, they nodded in agreement.

“Well if that’s the case, we’re joining too,” Lucas says. “Can’t just leave Mark alone when he’s so close to a rut.”

“What? Don’t trust us?” Hyunjin asks faking a hurt expression. 

“He’s our packmate,” Jeno sheepishly defends, while Jaemin adds, “Also, Uncle Taeyong and Uncle Jaehyun will literally kill us.”

Everyone laughs a bit at the truth behind Jaemin’s words before Jisung receives another onslaught of messages and sighs. “If you’re joining us, then hurry along then. There’s only so long until Felix will come and start looking for us.”

Eventually, they all fall into step. Hyunjin, Jisung, Jeno, and Xiaojun are at the front, Jaemin, and Yangyang next, Haechan and Mark in the middle, while Lucas, Hendery and Renjun trail behind the rest. It didn’t escape Haechan’s attention that the NCT guys were positioned around Mark in case of an emergency.

“How was your test?” Mark’s voice filters in, interrupting Haechan from his observing state. The question was normal enough. It was something normal Mark would ask Haechan. This was fine. 

Except, of course, the heat emanating from how close Mark is pressed on him and reminded Haechan that everything about this was, in fact, not fine.

“It was alright. Had a hard time keeping out the mental block but I managed to pull through,” he answers, trying his hardest to remain as nonchalant as possible. 

“That’s good! You’re gonna nail it, Channie!” Mark practically beams with pride. Haechan had to clear his throat, suddenly feeling a bit choked up on how fast his heart was beating, before he finds his voice again.

“H-How about you then? How was your test?” he stutters out, hoping that his blatant attempt at shifting the topic was enough for Mark.  _ this pre-rut version of the alpha is going to be the death of me. _

“It was hard to think. I can practically feel my hormones raging while I tried focusing on finishing the essay portion,” Mark recalls, scrunching his nose in displeasure. 

“You could’ve had a makeup test cause of your rut right? Why didn’t you do that?” 

“Mark’s a workaholic. If he isn’t in his rut or dying, he’d still go to school,” Renjun chimes in from behind them. Mark turns around to shoot the beta an annoyed stare, unaware of the frown that graced Haechan’s face.

“That’s not healthy, Markie.”

Mark, to Haechan’s surprise, blushes and shyly looks away. “I know. It’s just...hard for me.”

“It’s okay. You have people around you who will take care of you,” Haechan softly assured. Mark bit his lips in brief contemplation before his jumbled brain seemed to take the risk and gently asked, “Will you take care of me too?”

Haechan hopes to god that the heat he felt in his cheeks didn’t culminate into a red hue. He could practically feel his heartbeat erratically and tried to desperately stamp down the blooming feeling of desire. Instead, he calmly tries to answer, “Of course, I will.”

Mark grins bashfully and scoots closer to Haechan. “I’ll take care of you too.”

_ Oh god, I won’t be able to survive this. _

“Hey, Renjun-ah! Do you mind helping me here? Mark’s getting kinda kooky,” Haechan says, pushing himself away from the alpha’s hold and ignoring the way Mark’s face fell at the action.

“No can do, Haechan. Mark likes clinging onto someone one at a time,” Renjun sniggers, certainly enjoying the way the two pining dumbasses are floundering around each other.

“Yeah, so it’s your turn now,” Haechan retorts, shifting his annoyance towards his own tumultuous feelings to Renjun.

“You don’t want to be with me?” Mark sniffles, his voice wavering from sadness. With widened eyes, Haechan stares at the other in shock and sputters, “No! It’s-It’s not like that!”

“Then why are you trying to get away?”

“You’re about to have your rut, Mark. You’re not in the right state of mind,” Haechan tries to calmly explain, but the older just pouts even more.

“I’ve always wanted to do this with you. I just have the guts to do it now, so no,” Mark huffs. “I  _ am  _ in the right state of mind.”

Something akin to hope dangerously clenches unto his heart. Not wanting to allow the feeling to fester and blind him from the reality of his situation, Haechan takes a sharp inhale.

“Mark, calm down. You’ll regret this tomorrow.”

“Stop saying that! I know what I feel and I want to be close to you!” Mark shouts, earning some curious glances from other students who just want their exams to end.

“Hey, Mark, careful. Being hysterical only hastens your rut,” Hendery warns but the alpha was already feeling the rise of his emotions take over him.

“I don’t care, Hendery! I need to let Haechan know that I’m perfectly okay! And that everything that I’m doing is something that  _ I’ve  _ always wanted to do!”

At this point, everyone in their group had stopped and was staring at the outburst. Haechan didn’t know what to do. Was he supposed to take the other’s words seriously? At all? Even if the guy was probably babbling nonsense due to the hormonal imbalance?

“Mark-” Jaemin tries interrupting but is cut off by a fierce protest.

“No, Nana! Haechan needs to know! In fact, why don’t  _ you _ tell him?”

Vaguely, Haechan hears Hyunjin mutter, “Dang, these are the side effects of not knowing your soulmate?”, but pays him no mind. His concern right now is the boy in front of him.

Thankfully?, he’s not so sure, before Mark could continue in his rant, his body seemed to give up. Without thinking, Haechan scrambled to catch the boy despite his lack of strength. Immediately, the hefty smell of cedarwood and lavender engulfed him. 

_ Uh oh. _

“He’s on his rut,” Haechan claims worriedly, staring at the others in panic. They weren’t lying. Mark was absolutely  _ burning _ , a sheen of sweat had already overcome the other’s body despite the temperature being relatively cool, and based on the rise and fall of his chest, he was also having trouble breathing.

“We’ll take him,” Lucas sighs, already bending down to gather his packmate in his arms.

As Mark was in the process of being removed from Haechan’s grasp, the younger could feel the telltale signs of his heat approaching.  _ Fuck. Why now? Ruts can’t trigger heats after the first time! _

_ But then again, their story wasn’t exactly conventional, _ Haechan finds himself musing. It was only when he realized that his choker, who was already at thirty percent, probably couldn’t handle masking the onslaught of scent that his heat brings.  _ Shit. Not even scent masking can hide my smell. _

Once Mark was out of his reach, Haechan quickly scrambles to look at his friends, panic already resounding in his mind, and blurts, “I forgot that I have some other work to do. Can’t go today, sorry.”

Before he could run away and leave his friends confused, Mark manages to say, “No, don’t leave.”

Haechan decided to spare the other a glance - a huge mistake really, because Mark was staring at him with sad, pleading eyes as he desperately tried to stand and remove himself from Lucas’. 

He falters.

“Sorry, Mark. Maybe next time, yeah?”

“I thought you were done with everything already?” Jisung pipes up suddenly. Silently, Haechan curses his loose mouth and the omega’s memory.

“I thought so too, hehe,” Haechan sheepishly defends, already hearing the faint warning tone of his choker. The battery was running out,  _ fast _ . It had been exerting more energy to contain the intensity of his heated scent but it’s so close to dying. “I really have to go, sorry.”

“No!” Mark protests, flinging himself to prevent Haechan from taking another step. 

His heart quickens again, this time from anxiety. He was going to get found out at this rate. Thoughtless, he rudely pushes Mark away and finds himself staring at the other’s hurt expression. He’s pretty sure he mirrors the same face, but he doesn’t have the luxury of time. He’ll apologize later.

“I-I’m sorry,” was all he could stutter before trying to push Jaemin’s surprisingly firm stature. One last beep and he knew that his choker was dead. Frantically, he masks his scent in a vain attempt to continue hiding, but it wasn’t enough. His smell was still there. Heats, no matter what age, were always hard to cover up.

Almost like a switch had been flipped, he turned around just in time to witness Mark’s stance shift from pitiful and dejected to territorial and wanting. His chocolatey brown eyes were now glowing red, and as fast he could, he went to pounce on the younger. Lucas, Hendery, and Renjun managed to hold him back just enough for Jaemin and Yangyang to make their way over and provide support.

“It’s you,” Mark’s alpha growled, Haechan’s own omega whimpering in response and unknowingly glaring back with golden irises. 

_ Not like this _ , Haechan thinks as he witnesses, almost like a third party, five guys ward off his aggravated soulmate from getting to him. Each and everyone tried desperately to calm their packmate down, but it was of no use. Mark needed him. But he couldn’t. Not yet. 

_ No, please _ . He watches as his body turns around and looks at the faces of his other friends. Confusion and shock were plastered in their faces, but in his anxiety addled brain, all he could see was hurt, anger, and  _ disgust _ .

Automatically, he looks on as his body, filled with adrenaline, takes off. He’s aware that he should be feeling the burn in his lungs and legs due to the lack of proper nutrition and care, but right now he couldn’t think of any of that. The thought that they know. They know his true status. 

The belief that all the people he somehow grew attached to will find out about him, his past, and what he has done, is what pushes him to run faster. It’s only when he finds himself in front of a familiar receptionist does he realize where his feet had led him.

“Haechan-ssi?” the woman asked, confused as to what the boy was doing in the office. “It’s Friday today. You don’t have an appointment today.”

“M-Minhyuk hyung,” Haechan stuttered, his breath coming out in pants. “I-Is he here?”

The woman seemed to finally make out the desperation in Haechan’s voice. “He is, but I’m afraid it’s almost closing time. He might already be on his way out through the other exit.”

Devastation coursed through his veins. Trying to keep his already nervous brain from putting on more stress, he tried to take shallow breaths, just like Minhyuk had taught him. But it didn’t work. He was only descending into his anxiety even further.

Minhyuk was the only one he knew that wasn’t involved directly with Mark and the whole soulmate business. He doesn’t trust the man just yet, but right now, he was the only one that could help protect him from the wrath of his friends. He was the only one he could run away to. 

“Hey, have you seen- Oh?”

Haechan whips his head towards the new person and feels his body sag in relief. Minhyuk was standing there, glasses skewed and his white fluffy hair were ruffled. He looked like a mess, but to him, it was like an angel coming down from heaven. Without hesitation, he threw himself to the older omega’s unexpecting arms. 

“Hyung, I-I’m sorry. I didn’t know where else to go and I’m in trouble. They’re gonna come after me. I-it’s okay if you’re gonna leave me, I just don’t know what to do. I-” “Haechan,  _ breathe _ .”

Heachan stares, wide-eyed and fearful, at Minhyuk’s calming face. 

“Follow my breathing, okay?” Minhyuk softly instructs, taking slow, deep breaths while Haechan imitates his action. He gradually feels his consciousness return to his body, and suddenly he feels too aware of the position he’s in. 

_ Holy shit, I just ran to my therapist _ . 

Wiping away the tears that had fallen to his face, Haechan took a step back and tried to salvage whatever dignity he had left. “S-Sorry about that. Uh, I’ll just get going.”

“We can have a cup of tea in our place if you like,” Minhyuk offers, sparing the younger from making a big decision right away. Haechan hesitates for a bit, biting his lip as he weighs his options. 

If he were to go back to his unit, he’s sure that either Suho or someone else from NCT wouldn’t take long until they confront him, probably demanding answers and an explanation But, if he went with Minhyuk, it’d still buy him some time - a couple of days at most yet still more than he could ask for. The problem is, if he does hideaway with them, he’s just going to burden Minhyuk and his pack even more.

Sensing his turmoil, Minhyuk reassures, “Let’s start with tea first, yeah? We can go on from there.”

“Okay,” he agrees.  _ I can do that.  _

Minhyuk gives him a gentle smile and said, “Wait here for a bit, okay? I’ll just go get my stuff. We can leave through the main door.”

Haechan nods and waits patiently as Minhyuk disappears into the hallway. Feeling nervous without the other, he instinctively begins picking at his skin. The receptionist didn’t do or say anything to bother him, but the irrational part of his brain screamed at how the woman was looking at him with distaste. In his mind, she saw him as a lowly, pitiful person, but couldn’t do anything about his presence since he was, technically, a client.

Before he could continue in his negative thinking, Minhyuk came back. 

“Let’s go?”

Quietly, he nods and follows the older man out of the room. It was metaphoric really. He, a tainted young boy full of darkness, following the easy bright man before him.  _ Like Icarus flying to the sun. _

He remained silent throughout the journey. Thankfully, the other didn’t press for conversation, simply allowing his music to drift throughout the car. Occasionally, Minhyuk would hum and sing along to the songs. The older’s light voice sometimes startled Haechan from his reverie, but it was pleasant. He was always interested in singing and music, so upon hearing the sound, it calmed him down. 

“We’re here,” Minhyuk eventually announces, pulling up towards a rather fancy looking two-story house.  _ Is every pack fucking rich? What the hell? _

Shyly, Haechan trailed after Minhyuk. Once the latter opened the door and stepped in, he quickly called out with a loud, cheerful voice, “I’m home!”

A distant voice replied, “Finally! I thought I was going to have to pry you away from your office.”

Minhyuk chuckles and gestures to Haechan towards what seems to be the kitchen. “Sorry about that. That was my mate. He’s an alpha so he’s hella impatient.”

Haechan giggles at the statement, content with watching the other move around the room with ease. While the water was boiling, Minhyuk pats the spot beside him on the island, beckoning the younger near him. When Haechan was near enough, the older man looked at him attentively.

“I’m gonna have to warn you. My mate will probably come here in any minute now.”

“Th-That’s fine. I-I’m the one intruding,” Haechan fumbles, avoiding eye contact with the other omega and keeps his gaze on his fidgeting hands.

“Yes, but you’re a guest. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

_ Why is he so nice? _

Minhyuk laughs a bit, and answers, “I’m not nice. It’s common decency, Haechannie.”

_ Fuck, I said that out loud.  _

“Yes, you did,” the white-haired man said, getting up from the island and making his way over to the electric kettle. “Do you want anything on your tea?”

“Uh, I’m okay with plain.”

When Minhyuk doesn't say anything, Haechan moves his gaze to the other and is met with a flabbergasted expression. “What?”

“No one  _ likes  _ plain tea! Whatever, I’m adding honey, and you can’t object!” Minhyuk protests childishly, already preparing two cups of tea. The smell of chamomile tea wafted the room, allowing Haechan to relax a bit.

“Alright, hyung. I trust your taste,” he replied, causing the older omega to brim with flattery and excitement.

The pleasant silence that had fallen over them was disrupted by the presence of an alpha. 

“Minnie? Why didn’t you go to our room?”

A tall, lean man with pink hair entered the room with a confused expression. Though the guy didn’t seem like much, Haechan was sure that those long limbs could simply wrap itself around him and force himself to have his way. Alarmed by the alpha, Haechan quickly scooted over to Minhyuk.

“Oh, Hyungwon-ah! You’re here!” Minhyuk exclaimed, unbothered by the weird tension that erupted between the other two individuals.

“Yeah. Who’s this?” 

Minhyuk looks over to him and gently pats Haechan’s head. “Go on, introduce yourself.”

Haechan vaguely felt like a child. With the way, Minhyuk was acting and with Hyungwon’s encouraging eyes, he felt shy and studied, as if they were waiting for a kid to get the courage to speak. Even when he finally mustered enough willpower to push through his timid nature and mutter his name, they both looked at him with pride. 

“Nice meeting you, Haechan. My name is Chae Hyungwon, if it isn’t obvious yet. I’m Minhyuk’s mate,” the tall man greets, huffing proudly at his last statement. 

“You’re embarrassing me, Wonnie. Go back to our room,” Minhyuk whines, but the small smile on his face tells Haechan that he was simply flustered from the admission.

“I will, I will, don’t worry,” Hyungwon surrenders, laughing at the slight flush that settled in his mate’s face as he made his way back to the hallway.

Minhyuk sighs and offers a sheepish smile. “Sorry about him. We got mated pretty late so he says it a lot.”

They move back to the island, cups of tea in their hands, as Haechan curiously probed, “How late?”

“Hmm,” Minhyuk thinks. “Well we met as kids so we always knew we were soulmates, but we got mated a few years after college. Honestly, I can’t remember why it took us so long, something about wanting to be ready I think?”

“So you did it when you were ready?”

“Not really. I was 25, had a stable job, and was  _ still _ absolutely terrified.”

“Then why did you do it?” 

Haechan meets Minhyuk’s gaze, startled by the amount of sheer determination and certainty in the older’s eyes. 

“Because I couldn’t stop running away from it any longer. I knew I wanted it. I knew that me and Hyungwon growing old together with pups of our own would be something that I will always long for. So, even with my doubts, I went for it.”

At Haechan’s conflicted expression, Minhyuk could deduce that his mini-speech affected the younger much more than he intended. Knowing that there is some form of trauma that the other was trying to move on from, Minhyuk carefully adds, “But you shouldn’t rush to things when it can affect you real bad.”

“What if,” Haechan trails. “What if something you’ve been trying to hide suddenly got out? And you’re still not yet ready to talk about it even if it affects people around you?”

“I’m...gonna need some context,” Minhyuk states, sipping on his now warm tea as he observes the other. Haechan, under the scrutinizing gaze of the older omega, restlessly fiddled with his own cup of tea.

Until now, even when the truth was out there already, he couldn’t help but be anxious at the thought of verbalizing his past out loud. 

“We can start simple first, yeah?”

Haechan feels himself nod vigorously. “Y-Yes please.”

“Okay, hmmm, do you want to start with how your finals went?”

_ I can answer that. Okay.  _ “It was hard. Couldn’t focus well.”

“Is there a reason?”

His hands twitched. “I, uh, I’ve been having a hard time eating and sleeping.”

He knew it was coming. He knew what was going to have to happen next, and yet, anxiety gnawed at his brain when the older asked, “What has been causing that?”

With that, little by little, Minhyuk begins to unravel the intricate web of stories that Haechan was so hesitant in sharing. Though the younger didn’t go into detail about his past, simply glossing over it, his hands still shook from fear and unease. Haechan stalled for as long as he could, so when the final piece of his complicated puzzle was settled, it came as a huge shock when a large, muscle-y man reeking of alpha pheromones came strolling in.

“Sorry, I know Hyungwon said not to bother you, but it’s almost 10 pm and I really need a glass of water.”

Alarmed at the sight of the man, Haechan immediately latched himself onto Minhyuk. The latter, now knowing about his apprehension, wrapped a protective arm around the boy’s shoulders. Not soon after, another man, smaller but more muscular, walked in. Despite his appearance, the guy smelled like an omega.

“Hello, sorry about this. My name is Wonho. The big guy there,” the small man - Wonho, Haechan reminds himself - gestures the alpha who was now drinking a glass of water and continues, “Is Shownu. He’s our head alpha.”

_ Head alpha _ , his mind blares. Instinctively, he pulls away from Minhyuk and stands defensively in front of the other. Shakily, he states, “Sorry about our disruption. It was my fault, not his.”

Shownu raises an eyebrow in confusion as Haechan slightly trembles and continues to stare at him with a determined gaze. “What?”

Minhyuk, surprised by the action, snaps out of his haze and quickly speaks up, “Shownu hyung, do you mind if Haechan here can stay the night? He’ll sleep in the guest bedroom.”

_ Guest bedroom,  _ he unconsciously clings to.  _ Will there be a guest? Other guests? What will happen? How long will it take? Will it be just me? _

He was too caught up in mentally preparing himself to notice how he was left alone with Minhyuk. It was only when the older omega’s calm voice filtered in that he was brought back to reality.

“Hey, Haechannie. It’s okay. No one’s gonna harm you. No one’s gonna come to your room.”

Instead of asking for confirmation and reassurance, what Haechan asked instead caught the older man off guard.

“Will you be safe?”

“Wh-What?” Minhyuk spluttered, slightly bothered by the serious look on Haechan’s face. “Of course, I will. I’m gonna be fine.”

Haechan stares at Minhyuk for a while, searching for any signs of deception. It seems that he found none, because eventually he relents. “Alright. But if anything happens, just shout. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“If it bothers you so much, I can stay with you in the room.”

The young boy hesitates, biting his bottom lip in contemplation as he weighs his options.  _ I don’t want to ask for something as forward as that, but I kinda like Minhyuk hyung. I don’t want him to be out there, vulnerable, easy for the taking _ .

“If that’s not too much a problem for you.”

Minhyuk smiles softly. “It’s not at all. But before that, we better eat. I’m ordering pizza. You probably haven’t eaten yet. You haven’t even touched your tea.”

That was true. His tea had gone cold and probably stale, but he didn’t want to waste it. Decidedly, taking huge gulps of his rather bland tea was not a good choice. His face crinkled in distaste. Minhyuk just laughed at his expression and happily pulled out his phone, supposedly to order some food.

At the sight of the device, Haechan belatedly remembers his own phone. When he takes it out of his pocket and sees the onslaught of texts from various members of NCT, EXO, and Stray Kidz, he realizes, with terror, that he won’t have long until they find him. The messages ranged from pleading to frantic, all of which wishing for them to talk. Before he could fall into another state of panic, Minhyuk was there.

“Hey, come on. We’ll deal with that tomorrow, alright? If you want, I can introduce you to the others.” 

The thought of meeting more people, possibly alphas and betas, was frankly, not appealing. But Minhyuk seems to trust them, so maybe he’ll try. Besides, it was probably better than stewing in the reminders of his possibly ruined relationships. 

“Okay, hyung.”

Minhyuk practically glowed with pride and happiness at his answer. Haechan couldn’t help but stare. The man was beautiful, somehow always radiating positivity and sunshine, it was almost unreal. 

_ I wonder if I’ll ever look like that. _

“Come on, then. We can sit in the living room and watch some stuff while we wait for the pizza. Only when the food arrives, will everyone come.”

True to his word, when the pizza arrived, it was like a signal was sent to every person in the building because before Haechan could process, a bunch of other guys came stumbling into the room. As expected, Haechan remained quiet and close to Minhyuk, and only spoke up when talked to. Despite his hesitance, he felt himself slowly loosening up. 

It was weirdly comfortable. 

He had somehow managed to eat one whole slice of pizza that, though may seem too few in comparison to the others that were wolfing down, was good enough to earn pleased glances from Minhyuk. He felt incredibly stuffed and tired, the exhaustion of today’s events finally catching up to him. 

So when bedtime came, he took the initiative to sidle up beside Minhyuk and tentatively wrap an arm around the older’s small waist. Minhyuk was only slightly startled, mostly feeling an overwhelming amount of affection towards the younger, to care. Without any further thought, Minhyuk cradled the boy’s frame and pulled himself closer, allowing his scent to wash over the other.

Cuddling Minhyuk wasn’t like cuddling Minjun. The other was taller and could engulf him completely. He felt smaller in comparison. It was a sensation he wasn’t used to but wasn’t unwelcomed. It was nice. 

He had missed the presence of another omega beside him while they slept. For a long time, it was the only way he could sneak in some rest and face the aggression that tomorrow brings. Even now, when he’s beside Minhyuk instead of Minjun, he felt the odd sense of courage that always came to him in moments like this. 

Don’t get him wrong. He was absolutely terrified of what tomorrow entails, but that was a problem for his future self. If he could treasure this feeling, then maybe, just maybe, he’d still be as brave as he feels right now.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I hope you guys liked the chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed it! 
> 
> Not gonna lie, I was kinda shocked how many people were angry at Ten. Maybe I'm just used to people pushing their own agenda, no matter how well the intention is, to emotionally vulnerable people, but I'm really glad that you guys pointed it out! It brought some clarity over me, and I'm sorry that I was so insensitive to the situation. I'm really thankful for your insights and glad that I'm learning new things from everyone.
> 
> As always, constructive criticism is always appreciated <3


	12. Maybe This Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donghyuck finally talks to Mark. Well, as much talking as he could handle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO. AGAIN, I AM SORRY FOR HOW LONG THIS TOOK.
> 
> it was a lot longer than I intended it to be, so :/ 
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions of panic attacks and past trauma. If you are sensitive to these topics, please do keep it in mind when reading this chapter.

Donghyuck wakes up the next day, disoriented and confused. Flashes of fear washed over him at the sight of an unfamiliar room, but the lingering scent of lemon and hazelnut in the sheets was enough to remind him of what had happened. 

_ Minhyuk hyung _ , he worries, moving to stand up hurriedly. His mind immediately wondering about the possibilities of the older’s whereabouts. By the time he got out of bed, however, his legs gave away as his body crumpled down to the floor.

_ Right. Heat _ . Donghyuck grits his teeth, cursing the world, and forces himself back up. His legs were wobbling really bad, body feverish, and head aching terribly, terribly, so. He knew he was in a vulnerable state right now and was probably easy to be taken advantage of, but Minhyuk was out somewhere, possibly in trouble.

The sensitivity of his heat, though, proved to be useful. His senses were heightened so it wasn’t long before he was found the man.

He was in the common room on the second floor. Problem was, Minhyuk seemed to be surrounded by the others. Irrational fear took hold of him and as fast he could, Donghyuck hobbled down the hallway. He only stopped when he heard Minhyuk’s sharp voice pierce through the air.

“I told you, no! Hyung, how many times do I have to tell you  _ why _ bringing EXO and NCT is a bad idea.”

“I know, Minhyuk. But they are also our business partners. They haven’t stopped aggressively emailing us about setting up a meeting. I’m just afraid of what they’re going to do if we keep refusing any longer,” an exasperated voice explained. “It doesn’t help that some of their kids have been hacking into our system and leaving noted demands.”

“Hyung, to be fair, I don’t think that they would be that extreme. You know that Suho hyung and Taeyong-ssi won’t do anything that dumb, and the kids are just frustrated. They’ll stop after we email them about the agreement, ” another voice pipes in.

Someone sighs really loudly and, with a tired voice, speaks, “Let’s talk more about this later. We have an omega in heat right now.”

Donghyuck freezes, now aware of how strong his scent was. Even with his scent masking skills, it wasn’t enough to conceal his identity. Without any other warning, the door he was hovering in front of, opened, revealing the big, muscle man that he knows as Wonho.

“Hi there.”

“H-Hello. Is Minhyuk hyung, okay?” 

Wonho smiles at him softly and nods. “Yeah, he is. Just a little bit mad, but it’s fine. Hyungwon is calming him down.”

Donghyuck chances a glance behind the man in front of him and, true enough, Minhyuk was sitting on the couch, rubbing a hand over his face while Hyungwon speaks to him in hushed whispers. 

“Do you want to eat something?” Wonho asks. 

When Donghyuck meets his eyes, he sees nothing but gentleness. So far, Wonho hasn’t given him any reason to be wary (minus the whole he can knock me out until next week thing), so why not.

“I-I’m not really hungry, but I-I can stay with you.”

Wonho’s smile slightly dropped at the statement, but he persisted, “Would it be okay if I ask you to take a few bites?”

Hesitantly, Donghyuck nods. He doesn’t really feel like eating, more of wanting to just curl up somewhere and hold himself while willing the pain away, but Wonho was looking at him so innocently and pleadingly that he didn’t find it in him to resist. He also probably needed to eat something eventually, anyways.

“Great. Come on, Kihyun has already prepared some samgyetang for us,” the older man says, giving him an adorable gummy smile as he thinks of the man. 

As they move back down the first floor, where the kitchen was located, Wonho begins to ramble. 

“Kihyun is my mate by the way. He’s a beta, and even though he acts like a tsundere sometimes I love him. It doesn’t really take much to get him into a blushing mess, honestly.”

“How long have you known each other?” Donghyuck asks out of courtesy. 

“Not as long as Minhyuk and Hyungwon, but around eight years now, I think.”

Donghyuck hums in response. The conversation declined as they reached their destination. With practiced grace, Wonho maneuvers around the room, effortlessly preparing the table for the two of them despite the younger’s offers in helping.

Though his bowl was too much for him to stomach, Donghyuck felt grateful for Wonho’s consideration. It was apparent that the man was used to eating a lot, and based on the difference in their rations, the older showed restraint in overwhelming him. To show his gratitude, Donghyuck decided to try and finish what he was given.

The silence that fell between was nice. The smaller omega didn’t feel too guarded around the older, but he wanted to ask, “Will the others be joining us?”

Wonho wasn’t expecting Donghyuck to start a conversation, if how he chokes on his food was any indicator, and manages to reply, “Uh, no.”

Donghyuck lightly pats the other’s back and tilts his head in confusion. “Why? Are they not hungry?”

“Well, it’s already 1 pm, so we all ate beforehand. Besides, I’m not sure having everyone here would be a good idea.”

That was true. Their pack, Monsta X, he learns, was mostly full of alphas. Only Kihyun, Minhyuk, and Wonho were different. At first, the revelation of the biased ratio disturbed him. He had clung harder to Minhyuk and tried desperately to hide away from the group, but was quickly informed that they were not as conventional as he assumed.

Wonho, a lovely omega, was mated to a beta, even when Shownu, their very single head alpha, was available. As if that wasn’t shocking enough, he finds out that Jooheon and Changkyun, two alphas, were not only mated with each other but also soulmates! The world was crazy.

It was only when Wonho stood up for a second serving that Donghyuck realized how lost in thought he was. So instead of acting like a normal person and continuing his meal, his mind decides that it was a good idea to blurt out, “It’s 1 pm?”

Wonho lets out a loud tinkling laugh as he settles back beside Donghyuck. “Yes. You slept for quite some time.”

“That’s weird,” he mutters underneath his breath. They had slept around 2 am, relatively earlier than what he’s used to, and managed to sleep until the afternoon? Impossible. He never slept that long even when he was caked with blood and...other fluids. 

_ You were just mentally tired _ , his mind supplies, trying to convince himself that the foreign feeling of security didn’t exist.  _ Yeah. That’s it. _

While the two continued digging into their food, Minhyuk walked in. 

“Hey, guys.”

“Hi, Minnie.” “Hi, hyung.”

“Is Kihyun’s samgyetang still good?” Minhyuk asks, plopping himself beside Donghyuck. The older didn’t wait for an answer, deciding to reach over to Wonho and steal a bite before the other could protest.

“Of course it’s good. Get your own!” Wonho replies, swatting away Minhyuk’s creeping hands. 

“I don’t know, hyung. For all I know, he could be trying to poison me.”

“You’d deserve it then.”

Minhyuk clutches his chest and dramatically leans over to Donghyuck, the latter somehow not even flinching from the touch. 

“Men ain’t shit! You think you know someone!”

Donghyuck giggles at Minhyuk’s antics while Wonho just rolls his eyes, muttering, “You’re worse.”

Thankfully, Minhyuk didn’t bite back, choosing instead to grab his own small bowl of samgyetang. At this rate, Donghyuck must’ve been eating for almost an hour already, but no one seemed to mind. They didn’t berate him or glare at him, so that was something. 

“Sorry, you had to hear us arguing a while ago. I didn’t realize you were there,” Minhyuk spoke up after a while. Donghyuck, shocked by the declaration, stared at Minhyuk’s impassive face. When he didn’t receive a response, Donghyuck glanced back at Wonho for some sort of explanation, but alas, was left clueless.

“It’s okay, hyung. It was my fault for intruding.”

“No, you didn’t intrude. You deserve to know. We were just debating about your situation.”

Instinctively, Donghyuck shrunk back, trying his best to make himself smaller, but no one made a move to touch or hit him. Wonho and Minhyuk simply sat and ate their food. 

“It’s nothing bad. Some people have been pestering us to talk to you,” Wonho explains.

“O-Oh. I-I’m sorry. I can leave if you’d like. I don’t want to cause any more trouble for you,” Donghyuck hastily replies. 

“Oh no, no, no, there’s no need for that,” Wonho hurriedly reassures, glancing between Minhyuk and Donghyuck in mild panic, afraid that he had said something that could trigger the youngest.

“Hyung, I think Kihyun and Hyungwon are fighting again. Can you go up and sort it out?” Minhyuk chimes in. Wonho nods eagerly, clinging to the excuse, and places his empty bowl on the sink before rushing out of the kitchen. Just as he fully leaves the room, he throws a sweet smile towards Donghyuck and bids, “If you need anything, you can call me!”

“Call him? Man, he can’t even pretend to be mad at Kihyun when he’s being teased,” Minhyuk scoffs. Donghyuck bites his lips, trying to prevent a smile that threatened to overtake his face. He still wasn’t sure if he was allowed to show emotion.

“It’s okay, honey. We’re not mad at you, and you’re  _ not  _ a burden to us,” Minhyuk speaks after a brief moment of silence. The older omega seems to have gotten better at observing him after yesterday.  _ There’s a reason why he’s a therapist, huh. _

“A-Are you sure? I know Suho hyung and Taeyong-ssi are pretty powerful. I don’t want to stay if it hurts your pack.”

Minhyuk softly smiles at him. “It’s fine. Suho hyung is not as aggressive as some other NCT members, but he still wants to know if you’re okay. You don’t have to respond to him right away. We already told him that you’re safe and well.”

Donghyuck nods, nipping his bottom lip out of habit. As much as he’s thankful for the alpha and his pack, he doesn’t think he’s ready to face him just yet. For some reason, despite the leader knowing about his situation right from the beginning, he was still laced with fear. 

He didn’t know what would happen. Would he continue being the nice, young, alpha that had taken him in? Or would he drop the act and take Mark’s side, sneering at him in disgust and mockery as he gets exposed?

His thoughts were abruptly cut when Minhyuk continued updating him, “I heard from Johnny that Ten has been stopping everyone from going to you. He apparently has been trying to focus their attention on Mark, but even Mark is whining for you.”

Donghyuck’s breath hitched.  _ Mark? Mark wanted to see him? For what? _

“Do they hate me?”

“No, they don’t,” Minhyuk sincerely answers, not missing a beat. “They’re...frustrated, I guess? But they don’t hate you. They just want to talk. I…know you’re not ready yet, so me and the rest have been trying to get them to back off.”

“Thank you, hyung,” Donghyuck replies quietly, staring at the almost finished samgyetang as he mentally debated with himself. Monsta X has been nothing but nice to him. They went to great lengths to make sure he felt safe and comfortable. There had to be a catch. It was too good to be true. He wasn’t worth that kind of effort, after all.

“Haechan-ah,” Minhyuk calls out, looking at the younger with apologetic eyes. “I’m sorry, but...I’m afraid you only have a week. We managed to make a deal with Taeyong and Jaehyun for them to back off until your heat is over. We tried fighting for a longer time, but...we couldn’t argue any further.”

Minhyuk’s face was painted with regret and remorse, a far cry from the bright, bubbly person Donghyuck knew. Without thinking too much, he placed a hand atop the older’s and whispers, “I’m really grateful for you, hyung. Thank you so much for trying.”

A bittersweet smile twisted itself into Minhyuk’s face as he lightly said, “You shouldn’t be thanking me so much.”

“O-Oh, I’m sorry, I-” Donghyuck flounders, eyes widening in concern.

“Don’t be sorry either. You’re worth caring for.”

Donghyuck choked on his spit, coughing violently as he tried to process the words that just came out of the other. Minhyuk was patting him in the back, but he couldn’t really feel it right now. Not when the other omega had said something like that. 

“S-Sorry,” he choked out.

Minhyuk chuckles, “No,  _ I’m  _ sorry. I probably shocked you too much by saying that.”

“N-No, it’s okay.”

Silence followed them. Donghyuck was feebly trying to finish his samgyetang, while Minhyuk, already done with his, was trying to be as discreet as possible in observing the younger. The older wasn’t slick, but Donghyuck chooses to ignore it. Even if he did, he wouldn’t know how to address it.

He always hated being looked at. He never liked the way alphas and betas alike would eye him appreciatively, consistently lingering on the parts that they would ravage soon after. But this was different. Somehow, it was worse. 

The way Minhyuk looked at him had him feeling more vulnerable than being naked and open for everyone to see. Donghyuck feels an itch underneath his skin growing more and more insatiable as Minhyuk stares on. It was unnerving.

Eventually, he manages to finish his bowl. Minhyuk collects the emptied dishes and brings them over to the sink. Having nothing else to do, Donghyuck trails behind and awkwardly hovers around Minhyuk. The older man, thank god, passes him a drying towel. 

They work quietly, each of them already aware of their role and moving fluidly with one another. The sound of water running and Minhyuk’s humming were the only noises that floated throughout the room.

“I’m sorry I made you uncomfortable. I just...I needed you to know that you’re worth so much, Haechannie. So, so, much,” Minhyuk says just as they were finishing up with the dishes. 

A strange feeling blooms in his chest. The sensation was unfamiliar, but...nice? It was weird.  _ Whatever, I’ll break down about this later.  _

“Donghyuck,” he ends up saying. 

“Huh?”

Donghyuck dries up the last bowl and places it in the dish dryer before willing all of his bravery to turn to the other and face him head-on. “You can call me Donghyuck if you’d like.”

The smile that graces Minhyuk’s face was unlike any he had ever seen. He didn’t think that the man could get any brighter, any more  _ beautiful _ , but he was wrong. So, so wrong. Donghyuck had to take a small step back, too blinded by the other. 

“Okay, Donghyuck,” Minhyuk tests out, carefully looking over the younger to gauge his reaction. At the sight of the other’s small smile, Minhyuk decided to be braver and try something. “Are you still having trouble with your heat?”

“Oh, n-no. I-I’m fine. I’m used to it.”

“Hmmm,” Minhyuk hums. “How does having a Harry Potter marathon and cuddling sound to you?”

“U-Uh, th-that sounds good,” Donghyuck hesitates, his eyes focusing on the spot on the floor to avoid being seen. He fully blames the hormonal imbalance in his system as to why he agreed so easily, but with the way the older physically brightens, he thinks it can’t be that bad. 

“Great, Hyuckie! I’ll go get some snacks and drinks then we’re free to go!” Minhyuk cheers, quickly moving around the room. Donghyuck watches in amusement as the older practically buzzes around with excitement. “I’ve been meaning to watch all of it with someone but Hyungwon always falls asleep after the first movie.”

“Is it a good film?” Donghyuck asks.

Minhyuk stops and stares at the other with a dumbfounded expression, concealing the sad look of realization on his face as much as he could. “Is it a good film, pfft. It’s the best series in the world! Anyone who says otherwise is a liar.”

Donghyuck giggles happily and nods. “Okay, hyung. I’ll take your word for it.”

“That’s it. You’re my favourite dongsaeng ever.”

Another bout of laughter erupted in Donghyuck’s chest. The itch underneath his skin now grew into something warmer, enveloping him the same way a blanket does. For once, he didn’t feel afraid. 

_ I can do it _ , he thinks hopefully.  _ I can trust someone. _

  
  


-

  
  


All too soon, Donghyuck finds himself clutching unto the back of Minhyuk’s shirt as they wait patiently for Hyungwon to come into their room and announce the arrival of their guests. 

His week was up, and some representatives from NCT and EXO were coming today so that they could talk. Jisung, Hyunjin, and Felix had to wait. 

“It’s okay, Hyuckie. Me, Wonho hyung, Shownu hyung and Hyungwon will be there to protect you,” Minhyuk reassures for the nth time. 

“What if everything goes bad, hyung? What if Mark hates me?! Everyone will hate me hyung! I  _ have _ to finish my degree and I can’t afford to go to another school,” Donghyuck finally discloses, more or less exploding from trying to keep everything inside.

“Honestly, Hyuckie, I don’t think that they will hate you, but if they do, we will be there. We’re not as powerful or as rich as them but we’re pretty good ourselves,” Minhyuk answers, looking over to Donghyuck and winking. “Name any university and I’m hella confident we can afford it. Even them international ones.”

“Wow, cocky much?” Donghyuck quips before both of them dissolved into giggles. 

The boy was still laughing when Minhyuk paused and watched as the younger’s eyes crinkle from happiness. The small omega had opened up the past couple of days, and in moments like these, Minhyuk couldn’t help but to stop and savour the sight. 

Donghyuck was warm and affectionate, always seeking some form of physical contact, be it a hand atop a shoulder or even just scooting over when they’re seated. It was a paradox, really. The younger shied away from people’s touch, but once comfortable with a person, he seeks physical comfort. It never fails to give Minhyuk some sense of pride and joy whenever the younger reached out to him.

A knock interrupted their little moment. It wasn’t soon after when Hyungwon popped into their vision.

“They’re here.”

The false sense of security he had felt quickly vanished, unease taking its place. Minhyuk replied something, which seems good enough for Hyungwon because just as soon as the alpha came, he also left. 

“Hyung, what do I do?”

“Be yourself, Hyuckie. It’ll be alright,” Minhyuk softly encourages.

“Donghyuck or Haechan?”

“They’re both you, honey. Act however you see fit.”

Donghyuck sighs.  _ That wasn’t really of help at all. I still don’t know how to act. _

“We have to go, baby. We can’t stall any longer.”

“Watch me,” Donghyuck mutters but nonetheless follows along when the older lightly tugs him forward.  _ I’m really gonna do this. Fuck. Oh my god.  _

The closer they get to the living room, the heavier his heart feels. It felt as if he was walking towards certain death, and his mind screamed at him to turn around and run. He needed to survive. Minhyuk’s light grip on his wrist was the only thing keeping him grounded.

_ Breathe. Remember, Hyuck-ah. Breathe. Just like Minhyuk hyung taught you.  _

When they finally got into the living room, Donghyuck immediately hid behind Minhyuk’s taller frame. The various scents in the room attacked his senses, swirling around his nose until one of them prevailed - cedarwood and lavender.

Donghyuck makes the mistake to look at the source and is met with Mark’s intense stare. Everything about him was yelling alpha. The omega deep down Donghyuck’s own consciousness was telling him to submit - to run back to the other and bury his face where his scent was strongest.

“Over here,” Minhyuk whispers, sitting Donghyuck between him and Wonho. Taeyong, Jaehyun, and Suho were the ones across him. 

“Hi, Haechan. It’s been a while,” Taeyong greets. 

Donghyuck nods in response, still keeping his eyes on his lap as he says, “Hello.”

Shownu clears his throat and begins, “Okay. I assume that you are all aware of the circumstances already?”

“Yes, Ten told us the basics, but I’m afraid that he didn’t divulge any further information. He said it was Haechan’s story to tell.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Minhyuk asks, slightly nudging the other. Donghyuck looks up at him and glances back towards the guests in the room. They weren’t much at least. It was just Jaehyun, Taeyong, Mark, Suho, Baekhyun, and Chanyeol.  _ Okay, it’s just them so far. That’s good. I can handle that.  _

“Where should I start?” he manages to steadily ask.

“You’re from the Lee pack, yes?” Jaehyun prompts. At the reminder of his past, Donghyuck tenses up a bit, habitually hardening his face and sitting up straighter.

“Yes. I was born into the pack and stayed with them until the massacre almost two years ago,” the younger answers stoically, surprising the other occupants in the room.

“How was it?” Mark asks, his voice dangerously low as he stares intently at Donghyuck, the latter not finding it in himself to look away. 

“Mark you can’t just-” Taeyong starts to reprimand, but was cut off by Donghyuck’s own voice. “It’s okay. Everyone knows that it was a bad pack.”

Taeyong hesitates for a bit. “We just...We are curious if the rumours are true.”

“I don’t know about the rumours but the fact is that we were sex slaves. Treated like it and seen like it. That was it.”

“Wh-What do you mean?” Jaehyun stutters, taken aback by the blunt delivery.

Donghyuck pauses. He could feel his heart quicken and is acutely aware of how his breathing became uneven. His past was never something he liked talking about in detail, especially not in front of so many people. 

“They were a conservative pack. Held archaic ideals that punished omegas as a whole,” Suho explains for him. “You can imagine what it was like.”

Donghyuck shoots the EXO leader a thankful smile, unaware of the darkened expression on the face of the NCT members. It was only when Mark softly questioned him that he saw the dangerous glint in his eyes.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“H-Huh?” Donghyuck mumbles clearly caught off guard by the question.

“You knew...all this time, you knew that we were soulmates,” Mark explains, the sound of hurt lightly seeping into his voice as he says so. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Well, what was I supposed to do?” Donghyuck retaliates, his own wounded tone making its way out. “I didn’t know how you were going to react. Tell me, what I was supposed to do, Mark.”

His composure was slipping, but he couldn’t will himself to continue a facade. Mark’s presence was affecting him much more than he thought until it culminated into him desperately saying, “I didn’t want you to have  _ this _ as a soulmate.”

“Hyuck-ah!” Baekhyun exclaims, shocked by the derogatory way Donghyuck addressed himself.

“What, hyung?” Donghyuck spits out. “I’m not saying anything wrong.”

“Breathe, honey. Remember to breathe,” Minhyuk mutters from beside him. Donghyuck, with much effort, listens and focuses on his breathing technique. He vaguely registers how Suho and Shownu both take over the conversation, instead choosing to snuggle in closer to the space between the two other omegas.

“I think the reason why Haechan did all those things is pretty clear to everyone, yes?” Shownu clarifies, his eyes sweeping over the room as if he was daring someone to push further. Taeyong and Jaehyun took the hint and quietly nodded.

“I don’t know if Donghyuck said it to everyone, but I’m going to confess as well,” Suho stated, looking over to Baekhyun and Chanyeol for their agreement. When the two nodded their heads, Suho continued, “We were the ones who murdered the Lee pack.”

Everyone but Donghyuck and Mark looked over to the EXO members in shock. Mark could see the questions on the tip of his parents’ tongues so he took this opportunity to speak up, “Can I talk to Donghyuck alone?”

At the request, Minhyuk seemed to snap out of it. The omega squinted over to Mark and wrapped a protective arm around Donghyuck, who had begun calming down. “Why? What do you want to do?”

“I just want to talk to him. Please. I promise I won’t do anything.”

Before Minhyuk could retort, Hyungwon, who had been sitting quietly beside him, placed a hand on top of his mate’s knee. “Love, let him.”

“But-”

“They need to talk alone. You can’t hold him close to you forever,” Hyungwon whispers. “Wonho hyung can lead them back to the guest bedroom.”

Minhyuk sighs. He knew his mate was right, but it didn’t make it any easier to do. “Fine.”

“Mark,” Minhyuk calls out. “Follow Wonho hyung. He will lead you to a room where you can talk.”

Mark nods enthusiastically and stands up. Before Minhyuk could turn to Donghyuck, who seems to be back in reality, and explain the events that had just transpired, Mark comes striding across the room until he nears the boy. Instead of speaking, Mark kneels down in front of Donghyuck and gently taps on the other’s knees.

“Do you want to go to another room? It’ll just be you and me.”

Though Donghyuck just got out of the haze of his thoughts, one look at Mark’s face, and he was reminded of the rush of feelings the other brings. “Okay.”

Mark smiles at him and offers a hand. Donghyuck, always the sucker for the comfort of his crush, accepts. Without any more trouble, the pair follows Wonho back to the room that Donghyuck has been vacating the past week. 

“If you do anything to him, there will be consequences,” Wonho mutters to Mark, not so subtly fixing the myriad of muscles in his body, as soon as they arrive. Mark gulps and frantically agrees. 

Once Wonho left, Mark breathed a sigh of relief. His hand was still clasped with Donghyuck’s, a fact that he had forgotten until he felt the other tugging him into the room. The moment he entered, he was hit by the overwhelming smell of the ocean and sunflowers. 

Donghyuck watches as Mark closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He didn’t know how long he had been staring until he found himself staring right back at his alpha’s eyes. The realization that he was actually standing there with his soulmate with his natural scent littered around the room, comes crashing unto him.

“I can’t believe it’s you,” Mark murmurs in disbelief.

“Oh,” Donghyuck says, completely misinterpreting the tone in Mark’s voice as one of disappointment. He begins to remove his hand from the other’s grip while saying, “I’m sorry. I know I’m not-”

“No,” Mark interrupts, holding Donghyuck’s hand tighter and looks at him fondly. “I didn’t mean anything bad. I meant it in a oh-my-god-my-crush-is-my-soulmate kind of way.”

“Wh-What?” Donghyuck stutters, his eyes flitting all over the expanse of Mark’s face in search of an answer.

“You heard me.”

“I-I know, I’m just struggling in understanding.”

Mark then intertwines their free hands together and says, “What’s there to understand? I’ve liked you for a few months now, and it tore me up inside to choose between you and my soulmate.”

“You did?” Donghyuck asks with his eyebrows furrowed. 

“I did,” Mark affirms. “You were just...You were so easy to love and knowing that I had a soulmate out there seemed so far off.”

“But now,” the alpha continues, bringing up the younger’s hands closer to his chest, almost cradling it, and admits, “Now the universe has decided to bless me and grant me someone as wonderful as you for a soulmate.”

“Y-You’re not mad?” Donghyuck flounders, still not being able to convince himself to believe that the words are true. 

“I was. I was angry, hurt, and betrayed,” Mark confesses. “It was Ten hyung that snapped me out of it. I was in a rut, filled too much with emotions, and was around other people who felt the same way.”

Mark lets out a huff of air as he recounts, “It was a mess honestly, so when Ten hyung heard about what happened, he got mad at us.”

“T-Ten hyung? B-But he was the one who told me to tell you before the semester ends,” Donghyuck replies, thoroughly confused as to why the other omega would defend him.

“He did what?” Mark exclaims, slightly pulling away in surprise. 

“It doesn’t matter,” Donghyuck whispers, tugging the alpha back towards him. “You...really like me? Even after I lied?”

“Channie,” Mark softly says. “I fell for you even when I didn’t know you were my soulmate. You have a reason as to why you didn’t tell me, and that’s okay. Now I know, although that was probably not how you wanted it to go, still. We can figure this out together. That is...if you’ll have me.”

“What did I do to deserve you?” Donghyuck whispers, still unable to wrap his mind around what was happening. Mark just grins at him lovingly and answers, “I’m asking myself the same thing.”

“If...If it isn’t obvious yet, I-I like you too,” Donghyuck stutters, red dusting his cheek as he says so. Mark couldn’t help but internally coo at the sight. 

“Pinch me this must be a dream,” Mark mutters, pupils completely dilated as he looks at Donghyuck with unfiltered adoration, as if he was afraid that he could wake up anytime. 

Donghyuck, on the other hand, filled with overwhelming emotion, rests his forehead on top of Mark’s chest. He could feel the older’s quickened heartbeat, and smiles, glad to know that he wasn’t the only one affected. 

“I know you have your demons, and I want you to know that we can face them together,” Mark says, placing a feathery kiss on the crown of the omega’s head.

“Mark, I have a therapist for a reason,” Donghyuck replies, moving to make eye contact with the other. “But thank you. It’s...going to be very difficult to be with me, you know that right?”

“I’m pretty difficult myself,” Mark answers cheekily, easing some of the tension in the atmosphere before he continues, “And besides, there’s nothing you can do to make me like you any less.”

“Even if I dye your hair neon green?” 

“Even if you dye me hair neon green,” Mark indulges.

Donghyuck lets go of their hands and moves his limbs to wrap around Mark’s waist. “I’ll like you too, no matter what.”

Mark smiles and mirrors Donghyuck’s arms. Once they settle into the younger’s small waist, Mark begins to sway their bodies gently from side to side as he begins to hum a song. The low rumble in his chest soothed Donghyuck’s mind. 

_ I’ve never been held like this before,  _ Donghyuck couldn’t help but think, reluctantly allowing himself to give in to the moment. He snuggled closer into the older’s neck and buried himself into the smell of cedarwood and lavender, choosing not to mind the clear alpha undertones in the scent. 

There was no other explanation as to why Donghyuck felt at ease being so close to an alpha other than the fact that Mark wasn’t just any other alpha. This was his soulmate - someone he was bound to love with his whole life.  _ Maybe the universe isn’t so bad. _

Time seemed to slow down, Donghyuck and Mark just basking in each other’s presence as they continued slow dancing to their own music. Donghyuck rarely sang, mainly because he didn’t know any songs, but Mark had shared his passion with music enough for them to sing some songs together. 

In all honesty, Mark loved the omega’s voice. He could spend hours listening to the other boy talk about anything and everything, but this, this was just as good. Their voices complimented each other well, stirring something warm within Mark’s chest. 

“Oh, sorry,” a voice says, breaking the tender atmosphere between the two. 

Donghyuck jumps and practically pushes Mark away as he stares wide-eyed at the man at the door. Wonho had his arms crossed as he looked at them with a knowing smirk. At the expression in the older omega’s face, Donghyuck quickly stutters out an excuse and scuttles away, trying desperately to hide his flush.

“Seems like you guys did a lot of talking, huh?” Wonho teases, enjoying the red that crept into the alpha’s cheeks. 

“W-we did! We talked a lot, a-and I just realized h-how much I just wanted to hold him s-so,” Mark stammers defensively, moving his hands around to accentuate his point, only to realize how fruitless it was when the delightful glint in Wonho’s eyes only seemed to intensify.

“I-I’ll just shut up and leave,” he bids, briskly scurrying towards the door in an attempt to escape the situation. The older allows him to leave, trailing behind comfortably as they make their way back to the living room. 

Mark, aware of the presence near him, wanted nothing more than to be back with Donghyuck and get away from the teasing nature of the omega. 

“Haechan really seems to like you,” Wonho speaks up, startling Mark from his trance.

“R-Really?” the alpha asked, unable to keep the excitement out of his tone, not when Wonho nodded sincerely in response. “I-I’m glad. I like him a lot too.”

There was a beat of silence, Mark happily preening at the confirmation while Wonho observed the other. After a while, when they were near enough to the living room, Wonho slapped Mark, a bit too hard, on the back.

“You know what, I’ve decided. I like you. If you ever need help or get too overwhelmed with Haechan and his past - don’t argue with me, I know you will. It  _ will  _ be a lot harder to go through than you think - we’ll be here. Minhyuk can even give you some advice.”

“Th-Thank you,” Mark hurries to say as Wonho moves to enter the room. The only sign that the older had heard him was the gummy smile that he was given before the omega disappeared into the room. 

When Mark walked in, he was met with multiple eyes on him. Normally, he was confident - a byproduct of being trained to run a business - even sometimes, reveling in the attention he received, but in this particular context, he couldn’t help but feel shy.

“Mark, sit beside Haechan,” Wonho announces, unabashedly giving him a not so subtle nod of the head as he moves to sit beside Taeyong. Not wanting to stay under the scrutinizing gazes any longer, Mark obediently followed, making sure to keep his head down as he does so.

Donghyuck wasn’t faring any better. He felt a pleasant warmth buzz throughout his body as he witnessed Mark maneuver around all shy and adorable. Feeling brave, he scoots closer to his soulmate and rests a hand on the alpha’s knee, the action causing Mark to dare to look up.

Taeyong clears his throat and declares, “Alright then. While you two were away we talked about some things, trust me Suho hyung, Baekhyun hyung, and Chanyeol hyung have already been thoroughly scolded.”

“Unfair really. It’s part of our job,” Baekhyun huffs, crossing his arms in retaliation.

Jaehyun bit his lip in an effort to stop the retort from escaping his lips. It seems that they have been debating the topic for some time. Eventually, he came back to his senses and instead said, “We also discussed the date you requested.”

“Papa!” Mark exclaims, face quickly turning redder than a tomato as he stares at his father with a betrayed expression. The warmth from Donghyuck’s hand suddenly felt too hot.

“What? You kept asking when you could spend time alone with Haechan the whole week,” Jaehyun continued, clearly loving how embarrassed his son is. Everyone else, aside from the two blushing boys, was smiling in amusement.

“I was in a rut!” 

“Then why do I remember you asking about it during the ride here?” Taeyong joins in. 

“Appa!” Mark whines, hiding his face on his hands as he leans further into the couch. Mark feels mortification wash over his insides at the sound when he hears the sound of laughter echoing throughout the room. The only source of comfort he had was the feeling of Donghyuck’s hand rubbing his knee in solidarity.

“Anyways, before your date can happen, there is one thing that we need to talk to Donghyuck with,” Suho says once the commotion has settled down. 

“What is it, hyung?” Donghyuck asks, still slightly bothered by the blatant use of his real name around other people.

“Now that your heat is over....will you continue to stay with Minhyuk? Or will you go back to your unit? You can even stay with us if you’d like,” Suho answers.

_ Shit. I haven’t even thought about that _ , Donghyuck internally panics. Logically he knows that staying with other people will only cause trouble to them, but he was still afraid of the possibility that his friends will track him down to his unit and interrogate him for answers, knowing full well that he had no line of defense other than his door and maybe the receptionist in the lobby.

“Uh,” he states, unconsciously gripping Mark’s knee tighter. It wasn’t until he felt the alpha’s hand lay on top of his own does he realize what he was doing. Quickly he mutters an apology, already trying to move his hand away, but was stopped when Mark lightly grips his hand. 

“You don’t have to make a choice now,” Mark whispers. “No one’s going to make you choose right now.”

“Thank you,” Donghyuck mutters back just as soft and gingerly smiles. “But I think I’m ready to face some people right now.”

The young omega, now filled with determination, faces the others in the room and says, “I think I’m ready to go back to my unit.”

“Are you sure about that, Hyuckie? You don’t have to rush yourself,” Minhyuk questions, worriedly looking over to the boy hoping to convey a silent message that could change his mind.

Donghyuck merely nods and reassures him as best as he could. “It’s okay, hyung. I think I’ve been running away from it for too long. And they’re my friends. They should at least know.”

Minhyuk clearly looked like he wanted to protest further, but stopped when his mate whispered something in his ear. Instead, the omega sighs and relents, “If that’s what you want, goa head. But if anything happens, call me, okay?”

“Or me,” Suho pipes in, only to exclaim in hurt when Baekhyun elbows him roughly. “Sorry, I mean, us. You can call us.” 

“Yeah! Especially if you don’t want someone nagging you all the time,” Baekhyun cheekily adds, pointedly glancing over to their leader when he says so. When Suho turns to smack his arm, Baekhyun yelps and snuggles in closer to Chanyeol’s arms in protection.

“Do you want a ride back to your unit?” Taeyong offers, already used to the commotion.

“Oh, uh, it’s fine. I can take the train,” Donghyuck answers.

“Please? We insist,” Taeyong persists.

Still quite unsure about accepting, Donghyuck locks eyes with Suho, silently asking if it was okay. When the older gives him a nod, Donghyuck reluctantly agrees. “If... If that’s okay with you both. I don’t want to cause trouble.”

“It’d be our honour,” Jaehyun replies, the sweet smile on his face slightly comforting the younger that maybe he would be fine with just them.

“On that note, we’ll be taking our leave now, then. I’m afraid we’ve overstayed our welcome,” Suho announces, Chanyeol and Baekhyun nodding along as they all stand up. Shownu, out of respect, follows suit and walks toward them for a proper goodbye.

Meanwhile, Taeyong looks over to the two boys and inquires, “Would you want to leave now as well?”

“S-Sure,” Donghyuck answers, fully aware that they were waiting for him before making a decision. 

“Okay then,” Taeyong says, standing up as he approaches the other adults of the room to bid his goodbye. Before he knew it, everyone was on their feet, mingling with each other for some last-minute discussions before they left. You know, as adults do. 

Mark had already made his way to Chanyeol and the other EXO members, leaving Donghyuck alone with the man that had been taking care of him the past few days.

“You better visit me,” Minhyuk playfully threatens. There was a sense of finality in his tone. Donghyuck didn’t like that one bit.

“I’ll still see you every week,” he tries to defend, keeping it light-hearted. The awkward smile on his face fell when the older shook his head.

“I’m afraid I’m already too attached to continue being your therapist. You need an unbiased third party, not me,” Minhyuk explains, hurriedly adding a reassurance in the end when the younger omega’s face continued to morph into a crestfallen expression. “Don’t worry, sweetie. I can guarantee that your next therapist will be amazing, not as great as me, but good enough, you know?”

Donghyuck manages to plaster on a small smile at the older’s obvious attempt at joking. “I don’t think anyone can compare to you, hyung.”

Minhyuk’s expression quickly shifts to one of endearment as he whines, “This is so unfair! You’re too cute for your own good. I’m not gonna want to let you go.”

Donghyuck giggles in amusement before slowly pulling the other into a hug, making sure that at any time Minhyuk had the choice to push him away if he was uncomfortable. When he met no resistance, he continued to tighten his hold, enjoying the way Minhyuk’s own limbs securely wrapped around him, and whispered, “I don’t wanna let go too, hyung.”

Though the younger wasn’t intending to be heard, Minhyuk was able to pick up his faint murmur. Instead of replying, pressed his lips on the crown of the boy’s head.

“I can’t believe I’m competing with a kid for your attention,” a voice deadpans from behind them, breaking the two from their little bubble.

“Just watch when we have kids,” Minhyuk retorts, cheekily smiling as he turned around and was met with his unimpressed mate.

“Watch it, Minnie,” Hyungwon warns without any bite in his voice. He then looks over to Donghyuck and addresses him, “You take care. We’re gonna miss you around here. It’s the only time Minhyuk is quiet.”

The two ignores Minhyuk’s affronted, “Hey!” and laughs amiably together. 

“I’ll be sure to call him often so that you guys can keep your peace,” Donghyuck plays along, further antagonizing the older. Minhyuk huffed and walked away, leaving the two in a giddy mess.

“Please do call him though. He has a soft spot for you,” Hyungwon eventually says once they’ve settled down.

“I will,” Donghyuck affirms. “I’m glad that you’re his mate. You two are very good together.”

Before Donghyuck could fully revel in the flush in Hyungwon’s face, a familiar voice chimes in, “Hey kid, take care okay. These guns aren’t just for show you know.”

Wonho flexes in front of him, his muscles contracting angrily. If Donghyuck hadn’t witnessed the older crying over The Notebook a few days prior, he probably would’ve run away. Now though, he only feels mildly threatened.

“Sure, hyung. I’ll be sure to do that,” Donghyuck answers without hesitation.

“Also, Taeyong and Jaehyun are asking if you’re ready to go,” Wonho adds.

“Oh, okay. Uh, guess I’ll go now then,” Donghyuck awkwardly states, hovering for a bit, still unsure whether or not to shake their hands or to hug them goodbye. Eventually, he decides to just gracelessly shuffle away.

By the time he had made his way to the small group near the door, Shownu and Suho had already been shaking hands in some sort of agreement. 

“Oh, Haechan! There you are. We are just about to leave,” Taeyong greets, gesturing for him to come closer to their little group consisting of Jaehyun and Mark. Donghyuck merely follows the instruction and awkwardly fidgets beside Mark.

“Well, it has been a pleasure to have you all over. We should meet up again sometime,” Shownu states, smiling at them warmly as his eyes crinkle from delight.

“We should. I haven’t seen you guys in a while,” Suho answers just as enthusiastic. 

As EXO moves to wait outside the door, waiting for Taeyong and the rest to bid their own goodbyes before the two packs go down together. Before Taeyong could say anything, however, Donghyuck does a ninety-degree bow and hurriedly speaks with as much courage as he could muster. 

“Thank you for taking care of me the past week. I apologize for the stress, burden, and issues that I have caused due to my presence. If you need anything, anything at all, I’m willing to service you anyway you want.”

He hadn’t realized what was wrong with his statement until Shownu kindly replied, “Haechan-ah. It was a pleasure having you around. You were wonderful, and we didn’t have any trouble accommodating you. And, just so we’re clear, you don’t have to service anyone ever again. Not when we can stop it.”

“O-Oh,” Donghyuck stammers, his face burning from embarrassment as he finally comprehends what he just said. 

“W-Well, we’ll be off then,” Jaehyun intervenes, offering an awkward smile as he bows his head.

“Yes, we better take our leave. The other kids are probably very antsy right now,” Taeyong supplies, confidently taking over and smiling brighter.

“Bye-bye,” the members of Monsta X chorus as Taeyong’s little group shuffle outside the door. Donghyuck spares one last glance to the people that he had grown fond of and barely stops himself from running back to Minhyuk when he sees the same vibrant aura surrounding him. 

Thankfully, the two groups didn’t linger any longer with pleasantries as they both merely muttered a goodbye. Baekhyun, however, made sure that Donghyuck promised to call them later tonight to “catch up” on his school life, but the younger knew the truth. Baekhyun just wanted more details about Mark.  _ Fucking romantic. _

When they have finally settled in the car, Taeyong in the passenger seat, Jaehyun in the driver’s seat, and both Mark and Donghyuck left in the back seat, comfortable silence enveloped them. The two adults were talking in hushed whispers while Mark kept stealing stolen glances at the boy beside him.

Donghyuck, though, he was in his own world.

The young omega was looking out the window, properly drinking in the sight before him since he was too busy panicking the last time he passed through the streets. The neighborhood was beautiful, definitely richer and more elegant than what he was used to, but it was enticing. He continued watching even as the scenery changed to something more urban, somehow still finding the beauty amidst the stink of capitalism.

It was Taeyong’s voice that broke him out of his reverie.

“Hey kids, what kind of food do you want for dinner?”

“Are we eating out?” Mark asks excitedly. Taeyong smiles at his son’s enthusiasm and answers, “Sure, why not? I’m sure they can make their own food.”

“Mark, if you love me, you’re going to answer beef,” Jaehyun chimes in, glancing at Mark through the rearview mirror to emphasize his point.

“Mark, if you really do love your papa, you would suggest something otherwise. You know how much beef we’ve been having lately,” Taeyong retorts, giving his mate the stink eye as he says so.

“Uh, how about Korean food? The one where we always go to appa?” Mark intervenes, finding a solution that seems to satisfy both his parents.

“Hmm, sounds good. You’re so smart, Markiepoo,” Jaehyun coos, causing Mark to whine in objection. As the two begin their back and forth banter, Taeyong twists in his seat and makes sure to face Donghyuck before he addresses him.

“How about you, Haechan? Are you okay with Korean food?”

Donghyuck blinks in surprise. He didn’t think that they would care about his opinion.  _ Then again, I don’t really know much about food _ .

“Um, I’m okay with it.”

“Lovely,” Taeyong replies, giving the young boy a sweet smile before turning his attention back to his husband and son to reprimand them. 

_ They look like a family _ , Donghyuck thinks as he watches the three interact. Despite Jaehyun’s quips, Mark’s whines, and Taeyong’s nagging nature, the joyous glint in their eyes was enough to tell him that they were content with their dynamics. It actually kind of felt like he was watching a scene from one of those family movies that Baekhyun and Chanyeol made him watch.

“We’re here,” Jaehyun announces, startling the boy from his musings. When he looked out of the window again, instead of the fancy, intimidating restaurant he expected, he was met with a bunch of the tall buildings that looked to be home to some office workers.

He waited for everyone in the car to leave before following suit. As soon as he got out, Mark sidled up next to him and eagerly gestured in a particular direction. Upon looking closer, Donghyuck realizes that Mark was pointing at a well-hidden hole in the wall restaurant.

“This is one of our favourite restaurants! It’s run by this sweet grandma who is like, 90 years old or something, but she makes the best food!” Mark rambles on even as they were entering the establishment. 

“Appa and Papa used to go here a lot during their college days so it kinda became their place. When I came along, it was only natural for us to go here a lot. Appa even managed to get some of their recipes -  _ that’s  _ how much they love us,” Mark proudly boasts.

“Yes, Little Markie. We completely  _ adore  _ you,” a middle-aged woman coos, effectively catching Mark off guard. At Mark’s yelp, the woman continued to babble about how cute Mark is while she pinches his cheeks.

“Oh, Junhyeong-ssi,” Taeyong greets, unbothered by the scene in front of him. “We were trying to find you.”

“I was in the back, but I saw your car from the CCTV outside so it took me a while,” Junhyeong says, letting go of Mark’s face to fully put his attention to the leader. “What brings you guys here anyway? Not that I’m complaining, but it’s weird for you guys to pop in at this time.”

“Well, we were craving,” Jaehyun shrugs.

“The usual table then?”

“Of course. Is Grandma Aejin here?” Taeyong converses, walking alongside Junhyeong and Jaehyun towards a secluded booth. Mark places a soft hand on the back of Donghyuck’s shirt, and gently guides him, already sensing the hesitance in the other’s stance.

“She is. I’ll go tell her about you guys when I go back. She might greet you after the food arrives though, you know that already.”

Both Taeyong and Jaehyun chuckle in agreement. When they arrive at the booth, everyone takes their seat beside their respective soulmate. It was only when Donghyuck settled beside Mark did the woman notice him.

“Oh hello there. Who is this lovely gentleman?”

Donghyuck suddenly felt too exposed at being singled out. He wasn’t wearing his choker anymore and the realization that his natural scent was out for everyone, anyone, to smell comes crashing down at him.

“He’s my friend, Auntie,” Mark answers for him, scooting a bit closer to Donghyuck protectively.

“Oh, I see,” Junhyeong says. She looks at him knowingly but chooses to ask for their order instead of inquiring.

Taeyong, Jaehyun, and Mark easily chorus their desired food, some for sharing and some for solo.

“How about you, darling?” Junhyeong asks, shifting her gaze to Donghyuck as she addresses him. 

“Um, I-I don’t know what to get.”

“That’s okay. I’d recommend naengmyeon. My mama cooks really good noodles.”

“I-is it a lot? I can’t eat a lot.”

“Hmmm, it might be too much for you then, dear. How about some japchae? It’s not that heavy,” Junhyeong offers. 

Donghyuck nods, “O-Okay then. How much is it?”

“Oh, sweetie. You don’t have to worry. This is our treat,” Taeyong answers while Jaehyun gives the confirmation signal to Junhyeong that they were done ordering. The young omega couldn’t protest, not when the woman had already left.

“So, Haechan. I hear you’re a polsci major?” Jaehyun asks, intently staring at him in curiosity. 

“Y-Yeah,” Donghyuck mumbles, still unused to beautiful people staring at him. It was always greasy gremlins looking at him. 

“That’s cool. Will you be continuing to law school?” 

“Y-Yes. I’m hoping to aim for a scholarship hopefully,” Donghyuck answers honestly. Though he was given enough money by Suho to afford it, he still doesn’t want to rely on someone’s charity.  _ I still have some pride left. _

“You said you wanted to be a lawyer for omegas,” Mark suddenly chimes in, realization flooding in his tone. 

Jaehyun and Taeyong both soften at the statement while the younger of the two says, “That sounds lovely.”

“Wh-What about you, Uncles? I’m afraid I’m still confused as to what your profession is,” Donghyuck formally inquires, wanting nothing more than to take the attention away from him.

“Hm, well,” Taeyong replies. “As you can tell we have a business. We specialize in technology, research, and development.”

“We started off as a small team of specialized people, Ten, Johnny, Doyoung and a few others, but me and Taeyongie are in charge of the business side of it,” Jaehyun adds. “And please don’t talk so formally, we aren’t  _ that _ old.”

Donghyuck flushes a bit and nods. Mark just grinned at him and rambled on, “Honestly, papa and appa didn’t expect the business to grow as much as it did, so now we’re trying to catch up. That’s why the others have courses that are not super specific to tech and business.”

“We’re confident Mark will be a good leader,” Jaehyun expresses, huffing his chest out in pride as he stares at his beloved son. “After all, he did learn from the best.”

“Papa,  _ why _ are you so embarrassing,” Mark whines, flushing further when he hears Donghyuck’s voice speak up.

“Mark is good at everything.”

The twinkle in Taeyong and Jaehyun’s eyes only seem to get brighter, Mark already dreading the expression in their face. He knows his parents are up to something, especially since they were in the presence of his soulmate. 

“Haechan, I agree,” Taeyong agrees, smirking mischievously as he spares a glance to his wary son. “You know, we used to have a family band called Jung-Lee.”

“Oh, yes!” Jaehyun happily exclaims while their son shouts in different forms of protest. To Mark’s relief, before any of the videos come up, their food arrives. Junhyeong was standing near their booth with an old-looking woman beside her.

“Thank you, Junhyeong noona, Grandma Aejin,” Taeyong and Jaehyun choruses when their food has been settled on the table.

“You’re welcome. I’m gonna go ahead and tend to the shop. Eomma will stay for a bit,” Junhyeong announces, giving them one final smile as she exits their area.

“G-Grandma, d-do you want to take a seat?” Donghyuck asks as he lightly nudges Mark to scoot away. 

The old woman looks at him fondly and offers a sweet smile. “Thank you, sweetheart. I’d love to take a seat. Mark can learn a thing or two from you.”

“I’m sorry, I forget my manner sometimes, Grandma,” Mark apologizes, trying not to lean closer to the Donghyuck’s warmth while he focuses on the old woman. 

“Speaking of manners, I don’t think I’ve introduced myself. My name is Park Aejin, and, contrary to popular belief, I am actually 80 years old,” the woman introduces herself, holding out a hand for Donghyuck to shake.  _ Alpha.  _

“H-Hello, Grandma Aejin. I am Lee Hae-,” Donghyuck pauses. “I-I mean, Lee Donghyuck. I am 19 years old, a-and currently studying Political Science. Y-You can call me Haechan, though.”

He is acutely aware of the gazes being burned on him by the other occupants of the table, but he refused to acknowledge it. After all, this was the first time, after their talk, that he verbalized the revelation.  _ There’s no use hiding my name anymore, anyway. _

“You must be very close with NCT for Jaehyun and Taeyong to bring you here. They rarely bring anyone else new, sometimes Ten and Johnny have to worm their way through.”

Donghyuck blushes bright red. It seems that the sight of his scarlet cheeks only served as a confirmation to the old woman since, next thing he knows, she is nodding at him approvingly and saying, “I always knew Mark’s soulmate would be a pretty one.”

“Grandma!” Mark yells in embarrassment as he stares at her completely mortified.

“Now, now, dearies. Let’s dig in. The food’s getting cold,” Grandma Aejin announces, already moving to place a copious amount of food onto Jaehyun’s plate. The action effectively spurred Taeyong into doing the same thing to his son. 

Donghyuck carefully eyes around the delicious variations of food, trying to decipher which one of the plates was the japchae he ordered. As if sensing his struggle, Mark silently passes a plate of noodles over to him.

“Thank you,” he mutters. It was a lot more than he expected. 

_ I think I can finish this, _ he tries to think optimistically.  _ In a couple of hours, yeah. But I can finish it! _

With almost a single-minded thinking, Donghyuck begins transferring some of the noodles on his plate. Divide and conquer he always says. 

Just as he took his first bite, Grandma Aejin spots his plate and frowns, already reaching over to one of the dishes. Donghyuck, not wanting to be rude, can only watch in horror as she uses her chopsticks to grab a bunch of, what he assumes to be, pork.

“Oh, Grandma. Haechan doesn’t eat very much. Please don’t surprise him with a lot of food,” Taeyong requests. Based on the way Grandma Aejin stills, it seems that she wasn’t expecting it. When her eyes trail over Donghyuck’s small frame, some things seem to click together, probably a wrong assumption, but nonetheless tried to act nonchalant.

“Well then, I guess I’ll just have to portion out your food. Here, have a taste of one of each!” she exclaims, busying herself on her mission. 

“Y-You don’t have to, grandma. I-I’m fine,” Donghyuck stutters out, his hands itching to reach out and stop the woman’s hands. This was too much effort for someone like him.

“Hush, child. I want you to taste everything at least.”

“Thank you,” Donghyuck whispers, his voice coming out more vulnerable than he intended, as he watches Grandma Aejin place the last pieces of food on his place. She smiles at him endearingly and pats his head.

“No problem, child.”

“Now,” she says and stands up, lightly dusting her dark blue dress and continues, “I’ll leave you guys to your meal then.”

“Okay, Grandma. Thank you for the food,” Taeyong bids.

“Take care of your kids, okay? You have a good family.”

“We will, Grandma. We’ll take care of them,” Jaehyun replies.

With the way, they were talking, and the looks in their faces as they stare at him, Donghyuck couldn’t help but think that there was another meaning behind it. 

_ Do they...do they consider me family? No. Don’t think like that. Just because you’re Mark’s soulmate doesn’t mean you’re accepted _ .

“How do you like the food?” Mark asks, the closeness of his voice startling Donghyuck. They were still sitting near each other even after Grandma Aejin left. Before the younger could scoot away, Mark, not so subtlety, moves closer to “look over his plate”.

“Y-Yeah,” Donghyuck mumbles, his breath hitching as his eyes trail over the alpha’s face.  _ Mark really is beautiful. _

When Mark pulls away and says, “I’m assuming you like it then,” Donghyuck doesn’t move away. He allows Mark to see the red blossom in his cheeks and was rewarded by Mark’s own coloured face and shy smile.

“Okay kids, stop flirting. Let’s continue eating,” Taeyong reprimands, causing the two boys to jerk away from each other in embarrassment. 

Donghyuck could hear Taeyong and Jaehyun’s laughter as he shoves one of the sashimi to his mouth and chews. The atmosphere after that becomes much more comfortable than when they entered. Much to Mark’s dismay, Taeyong, Jaehyun, and Donghyuck bonded over cooing over Mark’s childhood pictures and stories. 

The alpha couldn’t even find it in himself to be annoyed at the flow of events, not when Donghyuck was laughing with so much happiness. He had never seen the younger so bright and vibrant than right now. Maybe the revelation of the omega being his soulmate was hitting Mark differently, but he knows, deep down, that he was just falling too in love with the other the more time they spent together.

“Thank you, come again!” Junhyeong bids as they awkwardly hover around the door to say goodbye.

“Bring Donghyuckkie with you next time!” Grandma Aejin adds as he waves at them.

“We will, Grandma!” Taeyong enthusiastically agrees, while Jaehyun cheekily answers, “I’m sure Mark will bring him here alone someday.”

“Bye grandma, auntie! Please ignore my Papa, that’s what I do,” Mark waves, showcasing a tight-lipped smile. When Jaehyun and Mark disappear out of the door, one chasing the other, Taeyong just sighs and places a comforting hand on Donghyuck’s shoulder.

“Come on, Haechannie. We better get going before something happens,” Taeyong says, guiding Donghyuck to bow down in front of the two women and into the car.

“You kids have your fun?” Taeyong announces as soon as they see Mark stuck in a headlock. The young alpha was furiously shaking his head in disagreement while Jaehyun smiled widely.

“Hell yeah. You guys good to go?”

Jaehyun lets go of Mark and walks over to Taeyong when the omega nods in agreement. When the older alpha places a kiss on his mate’s temple, Donghyuck looks away and moves towards Mark, who was still struggling to catch his breath.

“You and your papa are really something.”

“Yeah,” Mark gasps, “He likes to mess with me a lot. If I’m lucky, I can get appa to stop him.”

Donghyuck giggles. “Your appa loves your papa too much to stop him. I bet you get messed around a lot.”

“Bingo,” Mark says, shooting Donghyuck with a finger gun as he finally stands up. 

“Come on, you big baby. Let’s go inside the car before your parents actually leave us,” Donghyuck brazenly states, extending a hand over to the alpha. Mark accepts his offer and together, they walk inside the backseat. It wasn’t long after Taeyong and Jaehyun clamor inside.

Before they left the car park, Donghyuck meets Jaehyun’s teasing gaze and belatedly realizes that he and Mark were still holding hands. Just as he was about to pull his grip away, Mark excitedly tugs at their intertwined hands and shows him a funny video on his phone.

_ Whatever, Mark feels nice anyway. _

The ride to his apartment was a lot faster than he expected. It felt as if he just blinked for a bit and suddenly he’s staring right at the Dream Building.

“That was fun. We should do this again sometime,” Taeyong says, twisting his body to look at Donghyuck properly. 

“I’d like that. Next time, maybe we can try and cook something together,” Donghyuck suggests. Based on the first time they met, he was pretty sure that the older liked cooking and he, after baking the cookies, grew an interest in the hobby. What he didn’t expect, however, was how the older omega’s eyes grew glassy from unshed tears.

“Wha-? D-Did I say something wrong?”

Jaehyun rubs comforting circles on the leader’s back and smiles reassuringly at him. “Don’t worry about it, Haechannie. Taeyong’s just very happy that you offered to cook with him.”

“O-Okay,” Donghyuck stammers, still unsure about how to react to a crying Taeyong.

“Papa, I’ll bring Haechan to his unit. Is that okay?” Mark asks with a sort of certainty in his tone, leaving no room for argument. 

“Sure,” Jaehyun dismisses.

“Come on, Haechannie, let’s go.”

Donghyuck hesitates for a moment, torn between following Mark’s direction or to stay behind and make sure that Taeyong was okay. Jaehyun takes notice of this and smiles at him appreciatively, kindly gesturing for him to leave. Donghyuck nods and exits the car, only to be met with Mark’s expecting hand.

“It’s cold,” the alpha mutters, before intertwining their hands back together.

“Liar,” Donghyuck retorts without any real bite and tightens his hold, heart fluttering rapidly at the obvious attempt of keeping close.

Once they were safe inside the lobby, Donghyuck unknowingly loosened up and chanced a glance over to Mark, only to find him already staring. 

“Wh-Why are you looking at me?” Donghyuck sputters, turning away from the intensity of the attention. 

Terrible idea.

His eyes lock to one of the younger receptionists and flushes even more at the teasing grin on her face. 

“I like looking at you,” he hears Mark answer.

“Oh my god, you’re so cheesy,” Donghyuck groans, quickly striding across the room. The alpha simply allowed himself to be dragged to the elevator, even having the gall to laughing at the sight of the red tint in the younger’s ears.

The ride up was quicker than Donghyuck remembered it to be. All too soon, he and Mark were standing in front of his unit.

“Thank you for saying that to appa,” Mark says, beating the farewell on the tip of Donghyuck’s tongue.

“Huh?” 

“Well...I’m not really good at cooking, and I know appa is very passionate about food. It’s something that he and his own parents did to bond together and he always wanted to share that with me, but yeah. I’m hopeless in the kitchen,” Mark explains, ending the sentence by vaguely gesturing to his body.

Donghyuck wanted to cry. He felt so touched and soft by the information, wanting nothing more than to run back downstairs and hug the older omega into a bone-crushing hug. Instead, he joked, “It’s a good thing I can cook then.”

Mark giggles, “Yeah. You really are my soulmate.”

Both Donghyuck and Mark froze at the statement. They haven’t talked about what happens to their relationship or what they’re labeled as, and, to Mark, it was clear that the younger didn’t want to talk about it just yet.

“I-I didn’t mean to s-say that, I’m s-so-,”

“Mark,” Donghyuck calls out, slightly squeezing the alpha’s hand for a sign of comfort. “I-It’s okay. Y-You can call me y-your...s-soulmate.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to overwhelm you. People will talk and probably ask you,” Mark worries, eyebrows knitted in concern.

_ Well shit. I haven’t even thought of that, _ Donghyuck thinks, feeling the familiar sense of anxiety wash over him.  _ Everyone’s gonna talk. They’re gonna look at me and approach me. Oh my god, I’m not ready _ .

“Hey, it’s okay,” Mark reassures, noticing the younger’s shortness of breath. “We’ll protect you. Me, Nana, the whole NCT, and even Stray Kidz. We’ll protect you from them.”

Donghyuck desperately tried to cling on to the other’s words, repeating Mark’s promise in his mind like a chant. He closed his eyes and listened to those words as he focuses on counting down his breaths.

“We’re going to take it step by step, okay, Channie? You’ll be okay. We’ll be okay.”

Donghyuck doesn’t know how long it was until he finally calms down, but when he comes to, Mark is singing one of the songs that he shared with him before. It was an English song that he had fallen in love the first time he heard it, and it frustrated him to no end when Mark refused to translate it to Korean for him.

“Still not telling me what the song means?”

Mark pauses his singing and smiles at him. “Well I keep telling you that you can just look up the lyrics, don’t I?”

“I want to hear you say it to me,” Donghyuck pouts. Mark’s grin just widens and he purposefully recites an excerpt from the song in English.

“The world’s a better place, ‘cause you came in time. You took away the rain and brought sunshine.”

Donghyuck huffs and pulls away from Mark’s grip. “Fine then, I’m going inside.”

“Aw, come on, Channie. I’m sorry,” Mark pleads, keeping his hands on his side, afraid that any sudden touches will only startle the younger again. Donghyuck keeps his hand on the doorknob and turns to face the alpha.

“Forgiven, but next time, you better tell me what it means, okay?”

Mark nods enthusiastically, giddy over the prospect of next time. Donghyuck smiles before shyly adding, “Also….I plan on talking to the others sometime this week to explain and….I was hoping you can be there.”

“Of-Of course!” Mark quickly agrees, feeling a bit proud that Donghyuck wanted him there. No matter what anyone says, he believes that it was a sign of trust.

“Thank you,” Donghyuck hesitates. “For being the best soulmate ever.”

And with that, Donghyuck quickly disappears back into his unit, a blushing mess.  _ I called him my soulmate! Oh my god. I actually called him my soulmate. _

While Donghyuck internally screams at his bravery, Mark was stood on the other side of the door completely dumbfounded. When the words sunk in the alpha’s brain, the dopey expression on his face was the least of his worries. He didn’t even mind the playful remarks from his parents or his pack. 

All he could think of what the hell he was going to wear the next time they met.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Mark was singing is (I Like) The Way You Love Me by Michael Jackson!
> 
> so...i was planning to end the series in this chapter but...i want to have a separate resolution for Stray Kidz and the other nct members, hehe. anyways, this was probably the longest chapter I've written, so I am sorry for the blep parts ^^
> 
> as always, constructive criticism is always appreciated <3


	13. Believe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donghyuck finally talks to Stray Kidz and the rest of the NCT members

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi again! pls dont @ me im so sorry this took so long. i was caught up with some work and i didn't realize how long this chapter was going to be so :'D 
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter contains mentions of panic attacks so if you are sensitive to these topics, please do keep that in mind when reading

Chapter 13:

Donghyuck is not a coward. Not at all. 

It wasn’t his fault that his phone was dead and somehow “conveniently misplaced” his charger. How was he supposed to know that it had fallen from the bedside table and magically made its way to the bottom of his laundry basket? _The world was truly strange._

His only way of communication was through emails. _Archaic, I know_ , but it was the only platform he was comfortable with as of now. It also helps that emails allowed tons and tons of words - a feature that Minhyuk and Baekhyun made sure to take advantage of, so there was that. 

In all honesty, he had lost track of time. He didn’t know how long he had spent holed up in his unit, living off of the few essentials (his beloved bread and spread) that he had stocked, until he opened his laptop for the first time, and damn. It’s been well over a week.

_Shit._

Begrudgingly, he decides to do the good thing and walks over to the laundry basket. It didn’t really take long until his phone was humming back to life, showing him the onslaught of unread text messages from the past few weeks. Dread filled his guts as he eyes the latest notification, sent just this morning.

_Mark really doesn’t know when to quit. That persistent fucker._

Despite his apprehension, Donghyuck finds himself opening the conversation thread. The guilt he had felt in the beginning only amplified when he saw that Mark had texted him every day of the past week, asking him about his well being. He wasn’t even pushing him to meet up with the others - something Donghyuck was really thankful for.

  
  


Friday, February 28

From: Unknown 

To: Haechan

[19:23 pm]

Hasechna

Your e my soulmsjkre?1?!

W hy dint u tell me

I was lokkin fr you th whle time

Pplese tlke to me

Ijkfsjnfs

From: Unknown 

To: Haechan

[19:30 pm]

Hi sorry about that 

Mark is not in the right state of mind right now

This is Lucas by the way

Uh

I know we’re not close but don’t shut us out, yeah?

  
  
  


Saturday, March 7

From: Unknown 

To: Haechan

[9:46 am]

Oh my god, I just read my messages

Whatever you do, don’t read that

Anyways uh

I forgot to tell you last night but appa and papa really like you

Yeah

That’s it

Hope you’re doing okay!

Bye

  
  


Sunday, March 8

From: Unknown 

To: Haechan

[9:13 am]

Hi Haechan! 

Hope you have a good day ahead of you <3 

We’re gonna have a pack meeting later rip

Lord help me 

  
  


Monday, March 9

From: Unknown 

To: Haechan

[9:32 am]

Hi hi

I’m assuming that you’re overwhelmed right now

So I just wanna tell you that you don’t have to reply in an instant

Take your time

On another note

I tried cooking with appa today :’D

Don’t worry we didn’t set the fire alarm this time

  
  


Donghyuck giggled. After Mark greets him and wishes him well, the alpha would always somehow ramble on about different things in his everyday life. Mundane or not, he didn’t care. Donghyuck could only feel his heart expand with fondness the more and more he reads. 

When he gets to the last message, Donghyuck hesitates for a bit before doing something that he should’ve probably done a couple of weeks ago. 

  
  


From: Haechan

To: Markles <3 

[15:41 pm]

Hey Mark

  
  
  


Just as he was typing his next sentence, he finds himself surprised when Mark replies just as quickly.

  
  


From: Markles <3 

To: Haechan

[15:41 pm]

Haechan! Hi!

How are you?

  
  


From: Haechan

To: Markles <3 

[15:42 pm]

I’m better now

Also I’m really sorry for being MIA the past few days

  
  


From: Markles <3 

To: Haechan

[15:42 pm]

Oh no, don’t be!

I understand

From: Haechan

To: Markles <3 

[15:43 pm]

Anyway

How have you been doing?

  
  


And with that, they begin talking as if nothing changed. They easily slipped back into their comfortable dynamics, but something about it seems different. Maybe it was just Donghyuck but every time Mark expressed some form of concern or desire in hanging out again, despite it being a normal thing that friends do, the hope that he had previously suppressed only bloomed exponentially. 

When Donghyuck glanced at the time, he was suddenly reminded of how much time he had spent distracted. Mark was kind enough to let him stall for this long, but he had to address it, one way or another. 

  
  


From: Haechan

To: Markles <3 

[18:09 pm]

Mark

Can I ask you for a favour?

From: Markles <3 

To: Haechan

[18:10 pm]

Sure! What is it?

From: Haechan

To: Markles <3 

[18:10 pm]

I’m hoping to talk to the Stray Kidz guys this Saturday

I haven’t asked them yet

But I was planning for it to be around 3 pm in the Starbucks near campus

  
  


From: Markles <3 

To: Haechan

[18:12 pm]

Do you want me to come with you?

From: Haechan

To: Markles <3 

[18:12 pm]

Well

Uh

I was hoping that maybe

You could come to my unit earlier?

I might psych myself out of it hehe

  
  


Donghyuck waits anxiously as the text bubble appears and disappears continuously. _Shit, was that too much?_

From: Haechan

To: Markles <3 

[18:14 pm]

You don’t have to!

It’s stupid haha

I’ll just text you the details after I talk to Jisung

If you still want to come that is

  
  


From: Markles <3 

To: Haechan

[18:15 pm]

No no!

I would love to go earlier!

I was just

I didn’t know how to respond without sounding too happy

From: Haechan

To: Markles <3 

[18:16 pm]

Oh

Um

That’s nice

I’m gonna grab something to eat and prepare for bed

Goodnight Markie

  
  


Donghyuck swears he’s not a panicked gay. He isn’t. Mark just does something to him, okay?

  
  


From: Markles <3 

To: Haechan

[18:17 pm]

Goodnight Channie <3 

Thankfully, no one was around to hear the embarrassingly high-pitched squeal that left his mouth. 

That night, as he lays down in his bed and rereads their shared texts, Donghyuck could still feel the rush of emotions course through his body. It was weird, really - the way he is around Mark. He had thought about this before, but now that his secret was out, Donghyuck finally allowed himself to think extensively about their relationship.

Being around Mark simultaneously feels like being burned and comforted at the same time.

Sometimes it hurts Donghyuck to be around Mark, his feelings all too much to bear. He’d shy away from his touches in fear that if he admitted himself the moment of vulnerability, he’d be taken advantage of again. Sometimes, he even goes as far as running away from the sensation that the alpha brings in hopes to leave it alone forever - to remain safe in his isolation.

It terrified him and if it weren’t for Mark, he probably would’ve caved to the demons that plagued his mind.

When Donghyuck finds himself drowning in his thoughts, Mark comes in with an adorable smile and his beautiful aura, bringing him back to reality. He usually had trouble with new experiences and situations, always falling into a spiral of anxiety, so when Mark nears him, carrying the familiar scent of cedarwood and lavender, he clings to it. 

_I don’t know if this is a good or a bad thing_ , Donghyuck muses as sleep slowly overtakes him.

-

Saturday comes all too quickly for Donghyuck’s liking. 

Arranging a meetup was relatively easy, after the initial dramatics and freak out that is, but Jisung, Hyunjin, and Felix were more than eager to see him again. The bundle of nerves that he had been trying to swallow down since he woke up threatened to climb up his throat and spill out. 

He was on the verge of tearing his hair out and calling it a day when a knock interrupts his thoughts.

“You came,” Donghyuck breathed out, staring at the slightly flushed expression in the visitor’s face.

“I did,” Mark replied. 

Donghyuck managed to break out of his trance and stuttered out, “D-Do you want to come inside?”

Mark nods quietly, and removes his outside shoes before following Donghyuck inside the unit. Almost instinctively, the alpha’s eyes sweep around the room to take in the room around him. As if reading his thoughts, Donghyuck laughs sheepishly.

“It isn’t much, but it’s comfy.”

“It’s lovely. Did Uncle Suho help you find this place?” Mark asks politely, trailing behind Donghyuck who has since started pacing around the living room out of nervousness.

“Y-Yeah. He actually bought it for me,” the omega answers. “I-I told him that a studio apartment was fine b-but he didn’t allow me, s-so.”

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m glad that Uncle gave you a good unit,” Mark reassures upon seeing the worried glint in the other’s eyes.

“I’m actually curious about something if you don’t mind me asking,” Mark states, looking over to Donghyuck for permission. When the younger nods encouragingly, the alpha continues, “Uncle Suho helps you with your finances, right?”

“Yeah,” Donghyuck shyly admits. “I try to pay back by doing research for them.”

“Knowing Uncle Suho, I’m sure he doesn’t mind if you don’t pay him back,” Mark responds. “What I’m wondering is why. Not to offend or anything, but Uncle Suho and the other EXO uncles for the matter don’t really...how do you say this...care?”

At Donghyuck’s confused expression, Mark quickly adds, “It’s not bad! Suho hyung is just a very good businessman so he doesn’t really get attached easily, and I’m just wondering why he did so much for you when you were practically strangers.”

Donghyuck pauses in his steps and looks at Mark contemplatively. “Really? I didn’t know that. They were very forgiving to us when we met.”

“Us?”

_Shit,_ his mind screams. He had slipped up.

“Are there more of you guys?” Mark carefully asks. When he noticed that the younger’s breathing remained stable, he continued, “Where are they?”

“Dead,” Donghyuck bitterly bites back. As if realizing what he just said, Donghyuck’s eyes widen and a hand flies to cover his mouth. When Mark doesn’t say anything else in response, he sighs. 

_I’m tired of hiding them anyways. They were my family. They deserve to be known._

“The EXO hyungs killed everyone in the pack.” 

“What? That’s-” Mark begins to ramble, anger already getting the best of him.

“Yeah. It was,” Donghyuck agrees. “But I can’t blame him. Our pack crossed their pack, and as far as they knew, we were part of them.”

“Okay,” Mark exhales, still struggling to tame the protective instincts his alpha supplied. “Okay.”

“They found us hiding. It was impressive, really. We’re really good at hiding our scents so I thought for sure that we could get away,” Donghyuck says, smiling proudly at his statement.

“I doubt that you’re that good,” Mark scoffs in a desperate attempt to distract his wolf side from overtaking. 

“Bet,” Donghyuck answers smugly. “The place already smells of me so you need to come closer and experience the mastery yourself.”

Mark raises an eyebrow challengingly and does as he’s told. He moved purely on instinct so when his mind finally caught up and realized that holy shit, he was so close to the younger’s face, it was already too late. Before he could go in a full-on panicked state, his senses got the better of him. 

There really was no scent.

“How did you do that?” Mark whispers, pulling away slightly to observe the omega’s face. His nose was still sniffing around for a trace of the smell that he had gotten so fond of.

“It’s a trick that we learned and developed as omegas of our pack. It was our only defense mechanism against them,” Donghyuck answers just as soft.

“I’ll make sure that you won’t have to use it anymore,” Mark mutters, gently ghosting his hand over the smaller’s arm for comfort. Donghyuck practically melts on the spot, accidentally letting go of his control over his scent. When the smell of the ocean and sunflowers hit his senses, he quickly snapped out of it.

“Haha yeah,” he awkwardly diverts, moving away from the other to regain his composure. “Anyways, there were four of us. We managed to strike a deal with Suho hyung but a stray beta from our pack snuck up on us and killed everyone else but me.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Mark replies. 

“I am too. They deserved so much more than what they got,” Donghyuck agrees, a flash of remorse passed in his face before his neutral expression returns. “But I think that’s why Suho hyung treats me so well. He pities me.”

“Maybe, but honestly speaking, based on the way he reacted when we found out you were an omega, Uncle Suho cares about you. He managed to stop Nana and Renjun from storming your unit. I mean, he even lets you call him hyung! We’re forced to call him Uncle,” Mark counters, pouting a bit at his last statement.

“Maybe,” Donghyuck repeats, uncertainty and doubt leaking into his tone. 

“Oh!” the omega exclaims, suddenly remembering something. “Suho hyung did admit to me before that he had a friend in the same situation as me?”

“A friend?” Mark parrots, crossing his arm in contemplation. “Hmm, I don’t really know much about Uncle’s friends.”

It was silent for a while, Mark contemplating about what he knew about his uncles while Donghyuck was racking his brain for any other clues that the EXO leader might've given him. Only when the alpha clapped his hands loudly did recognition shine in his face.

“I remember Uncle Sehun saying something!” 

“What? What did he say?” Donghyuck asks earnestly.

“He went out drinking one time with Johnny hyung and Ten hyung. He came to our floor all wasted and blabbering about some guys. I never saw him that sad before.”

“Do you know who it was?”

Mark shook his head. “Johnny hyung sent him to their guest room before I could hear any more. I asked Ten hyung about it later on but all he said was that EXO could’ve been more than just nine.”

“Makes sense. Suho hyung did say that his friend left the country before EXO became powerful,” Donghyuck concludes. Noting that the conversation ended, he quickly asks, “Have you eaten anything? I have some bread if you want.”

“Or water? I’m afraid I don’t have many choices for drinks,” Donghyuck hurriedly adds before Mark could answer.

The alpha laughs good-naturedly. “It’s fine, Channie. But, uh, appa packed some food for us to eat.”

Only then did Donghyuck look down and take note of the lunch bag in the alpha’s hand. _Holy shit, how did I not notice?_

“Oh my, you didn’t have to!” he hurriedly says.

“Yeah, but appa really wanted to. And hey, think of it as us returning a favour. You made us cookies, remember?” Mark assures. “So, where do you want to eat?”

“Uh, I don’t...really have a table,” Donghyuck admits, embarrassed by his lack of furniture. To be fair, he never had to use a table.

“Where do you usually eat?” Mark asks innocently, tilting his head in confusion.

“I usually eat sandwiches so I just really eat anywhere,” Donghyuck dismisses, mentally patting himself in the back at his nonchalant tone.

“You eat sandwiches a lot, don’t you?” Mark questions with a slight frown on his face. “That’s not healthy.”

Donghyuck shrugs. “I haven’t fallen sick yet, have I?”

Mark rolls his eyes at the remark and retorts, “Just because you’re alive doesn’t mean your living.”

Donghyuck pauses for a bit. “Wow, Mark, that was the deepest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“Stop,” Mark giggles, pushing Donghyuck playfully. “Come on, we can eat on the floor.” 

_He really is my soulmate_ , the younger mentally swoons, happily walking over to the living room floor and settling down. As they begin to dig in the food, Mark starts up a conversation once again, this time talking about his pack’s antics.

Donghyuck didn’t mind. He enjoyed listening to the alpha share stories that made him happy. It also helps that he gets blackmail material on the others for future use. 

Eventually, after the food was finished (Donghyuck noticed that his portion was smaller than Mark’s. He was going to thank Taeyong later), they transferred to the couch and continued discussing other anecdotes of their lives. Well, more of Mark sharing and Donghyuck listening. 

Before they knew it, the clock struck 2 pm.

“I’ll clean up,” Donghyuck says, bending down to gather the glass tupperware in his arms.

“I’ll help,” Mark offers, grabbing his own tupperware out of Donghyuck’s reach despite the other’s protests. Donghyuck sighs, already knowing that there was no use in denying the alpha, and walks over to the kitchen sink. Without even looking, he knew that Mark was following after him.

They worked in silence. The omega was too caught up in his thoughts to realize that he had been cleaning the same tupperware repeatedly.

“What did that do to you?”

Donghyuck snaps out of his reverie and looks over to Mark’s smirking face. Huffing, he thrusts the tupperware over to the alpha for him to dry off. “Shut up, at least it’s clean.”

Mark laughs and accepts the dish in his grasp. He waits for the smaller boy to dry off his hands to carefully inquire, “Penny for your thoughts?”

Donghyuck hesitates, observing the other from behind for a bit before ultimately deciding that the buzzing in his chest will only continue to grow if he doesn’t let it out. So with as much courage as he could muster, he softly reveals, “I’m scared.”

“I lied to them for so long, they probably hate me for it. They were the first people I felt comfortable with in college and I-I don’t know what to do when they leave,” Donghyuck continues, vaguely aware of Mark turning around to face him as the buzzing inside him pushed him to continue in hysterics.

“H-Hyunjin is really protective over Jisung and Felix. H-he might do something to me and I’d take it because it’s what I deserve but-,” Donghyuck pauses, struggling to get air in his lungs. The buzz now fully encompassed his body. 

“I-I can’t bear to see the disgust in their faces, Mark. I just can’t.”

“Channie,” Mark urges, immediately remembering Minhyuk’s advice as to what to do in times like this. “Focus on my voice, yeah?”

As Mark continues to talk in a hushed tone, Donghyuck listens intently. The omega grasps onto the sweet whispers that came out of the other’s mouth in an attempt to quiet the negative direction that his mind led him to go. With much effort, he manages to stabilize his breath and return to the situation at hand.

Before he could brush off what happened with a joke, Mark beats him to it.

“I’m not gonna act like I’m sure, but I’m willing to bet that they don’t hate you. They’re just worried about you,” Mark says. “And if they try anything funny, I’ll be there to protect you.”

_Liar_ , a dark voice mumbles in his mind. _He’s just going to leave you alone._

Not wanting to dwell any more on his vulnerabilities, Donghyuck chooses to playfully retort, “Yeah? With those arms of yours? I think I have a better chance alone, thank you very much.”

Mark bought into his statement as he gleefully laughs. “Hey! I’m pretty strong!”

“Says who? I know for a fact that it’s not your papa,” Donghyuck teases despite the negativity swirling in his brain. 

“Didn’t have to come for me like that,” Mark huffs before softly adding, “Are you okay though? We can reschedule if you want. I’m sure they’ll understand.”

Donghyuck nods a beat later. “I’ll be fine. I’ve been putting it off for too long already.”

“Okay,” Mark replies. “If you’re sure, then okay.”

“We should probably leave soon,” Donghyuck states, making no effort to move out. Mark sidles up beside the omega, making sure to leave at least one foot of space between them in case that the other was still uncomfortable, and says, “Take your time.”

If Donghyuck stays a little while longer, no one says a thing.

-

“What if I just book a flight and change my name to John Cena?” Donghyuck blurts out, halting in his steps just as they were about twenty steps from the entrance.

“What?” Mark sputters, laughing at the sudden suggestion. 

Donghyuck, still completely serious, turns to look at Mark and explains, “No, Mark, listen. If I go away to Canada and change my name to John Cena, no one will question it. It’s such a common name that I’ll fit right in!”

“Haechan,” Mark chuckles, thoroughly amused. “ _John_ is a common name, not John Cena. if you go to Canada with that name, everyone will look at you weird.”

“What do you know about Canada, huh?” Donghyuck challenges, squinting his eyes threateningly at the alpha. 

“Papa’s family loves the place. Every vacation our family and papa’s old pack go there for vacation,” Mark shrugs.

“What?!” 

“What?” Mark repeats.

“You’re basically Canadian, and you didn’t tell me?” Donghyuck shrieks, lightly slapping the alpha in the arm.

“Sorry! It never came up!” Mark yells in defense. “Stop attacking me, come on, I can see Jisung and Felix eyeing us from the inside.”

Donghyuck freezes at the reminder. “I am not ready for this.”

“Just say the word and we can cancel,” Mark assures. Donghyuck just nods and reaches to hold one of the alpha’s hands. 

“It’s now or never, I guess,” Donghyuck mutters to himself and wills his feet to walk ahead. The bundle of nerves that he somehow suppressed came back tenfold, only intensifying further when he found himself face to face with the people that first took him in.

“Hi,” he shyly greets, gripping his soulmate’s hand even tighter. He had forgone his choker in an effort to show them a sign of trust. It didn’t matter that he habitually hid his scent because, as he said, _It’s the effort that counts._

“Haechan,” Jisung breathes out and stands up. Before Donghyuck could process, the other omega had pulled him into a hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

Donghyuck stiffens in his hold, eventually loosening up when his mind finally recognizes the omega smell emanating from the other. He falters a bit, not really wanting to let go of Mark’s hand, but decides otherwise and returns the embrace.

“I am. I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” Jisung whispers. He then pulls away abruptly and impishly threatens, “If you disappear on us again, I swear to god I’m gonna personally go cause hell in the world. Satan will be out of a job.”

“It’s not nice for Changbin hyung to be unemployed,” Donghyuck teases, giggling louder when Felix lets out an affronted shout. 

“Come on, take a seat,” Jisung says, making his way back beside Hyunjin. Both Donghyuck and Mark take that as the cue to sit on the empty booth right across the three packmates. 

As soon as they settled in, Donghyuck instinctively intertwined his hand with the other as if it were a lifeline. _To be fair, it kind of is at this point._

“Do you guys want to order something?” Hyunjin politely asks. 

“Ah no, thank you. We ate beforehand so we’re still pretty full,” Mark answers for them, already aware of the younger’s penchant of refusing to spend on frivolous things. 

“Okay, so should we get to the point?” Felix, surprisingly, was the one who took the initiative. He didn’t bother to hide the curiosity and desperation in his eyes as he stared intently at Donghyuck. 

Mark squeezes the younger’s hand in solidarity, spurring Donghyuck to take a deep breath and say, “Yes. Ask away and I’ll answer as best as I can.”

“So you’re an omega?” Felix immediately questions.

“Yes.”

“But you smelled like an alpha for as long as we met you. How is that possible?” 

Donghyuck spares a glance at Mark, silently asking if he was allowed to share a piece of information that he isn’t sure is classified to NCT and EXO. When he receives a nod, he answers, “I have a friend that has a business. They have technology that hides the scent of a person and changes them. That’s why I was wearing that choker every day.”

“Are you wearing it today too? I can’t smell you,” Hyunjin points out, furrowing his eyebrows in concentration as his nose moves to sniff the air.

“Oh,” Donghyuck replies as his leg begins to bounce nervously. “Well, uh, I can hide my scent with or without the choker, haha.”

“That’s pretty cool. I never heard of an omega doing that for a long period of time. Even I could only do it for a few seconds before my body gives up,” Felix states, looking at him with some form of admiration. “But can we smell you? We didn’t really get to know your scent since you ran off.”

Warning bells rang inside Donghyuck’s mind. The anxiety that was kept in bay began rocking his sanity at large, screaming at him that this was all a ruse - that they get the sick twist pleasure of witnessing him fall apart while they use his scent to attack his vulnerabilities.

“Uh, I don’t-”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Jisung interrupts. 

On one hand, Donghyuck was thankful that the other changed the topic to something else. On the other, however, he’s not sure that he likes the direction of where this topic is going.

“Tell you what?” he decides to reply, hoping that playing dumb will dishearten the others to continue with the subject.

“That you’re an omega. That you’re Mark’s soulmate,” Jisung lists off. Any hope of disregarding the topic seems to fade away as everyone, including Mark, stares at him keenly.

“I,” he starts, already feeling the waver in his voice. “I used to have a pack.”

Donghyuck waited for someone to react or respond but when no one said anything, he continued, “It wasn’t a good pack. They were very bad to omegas so when I...got free from the pack and was left alone, being an alpha, in my opinion, is the safest option.”

“Is that why you have trouble eating? Why you’re still hesitant around Hyunjin?” Jisung inquires. 

“Y-Yeah,” he answers, a bit shocked at the observation.

Something akin to sadness and anger flashes in the faces of the three people in front of him. Mistaking the emotion for negativity toward him, Donghyuck quickly adds, “I-I’m sorry! I-I’ll do better next time.”

“We’re not mad at you,” Felix hurriedly hushes. “We’re just mad at the people that hurt you.”

Hyunjin nods in agreement. “Yeah.” 

“I always thought it was strange,” Jisung says, catching everyone in the table off guard by the seemingly insensitive comment. “You shied away from Hyunjin any time he got near, but you were very affectionate to me and Felix.”

“I just...I didn’t think much of it,” the other omega continues. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think much of it. If I just noticed earlier on....then maybe you wouldn’t’ve suffered all this time alone.”

The emotion that his friend displayed surprised Donghyuck. “It’s not your fault, Jisung-ah.”

“I know it’s not,” Jisung responds determinedly. “But we made you feel like you couldn’t tell us. And I’m so _so_ sorry for it.”

Donghyuck opens his mouth to oppose the apology but is beaten by Felix's words. “You don’t have to tell us everything right away, we don’t mind. Given by your actions, your past must’ve been really bad.”

“Haechannie, you know they won’t give in,” Hyunjin grins. “And we do love you. So take your time. We’ll be better friends for you from now on.”

Donghyuck was starting to feel too choked up, so instead of replying to them like a normal human being, he turns to Mark and tries to accuse him as threateningly as he could, “You told them something didn’t you?”

“Don’t look at me, I haven’t talked to them since school ended,” Mark defends, using his free hand as a form of surrender.

“So now that that’s all clear, you want to finally go bowling?” Felix suggests.

“Uh, before that,” Donghyuck says. “I...still think you need to know something.”

“You don’t have to,” Hyunjin reassures.

“I know, but it only seems fair since almost everyone I care about knows the gist of it,” Donghyuck continues, unconsciously holding onto Mark’s hand tighter. “In summary, well, uh, in my old pack omegas were treated as sex slaves.”

It was clear that his answer wasn’t what they expected, judging by the myriad of expressions that passed by their faces - the most notable one was anger.

“What?” Jisung yelled out, nose flaring out as his eyes shifted to a golden hue. Normally, Jisung was the calmer one between him, Hyunjin, and Felix, but he was always a tad too protective when it came to people he cared about, his wolf always surfacing in blind devotion.

“Jisung calm down,” Mark says in response.

“No, Mark. I will not calm the fuck down,” Jisung sassily retorts before turning his attention back to Donghyuck, who had begun cowering in his seat. “Who are they? What did they do to you?”

“Jisung,” Mark warns one more time.

“I’m gonna kill them, Mark. I’m gonna find every single one of those fuckers that dared lay a hand on Haechan and I will skin them alive,” Jisung’s omega speaks with a dangerous glint in his eyes. 

“You can’t. They’re already dead,” Mark replies, his tone laced with a tint of alpha in an effort to halt the other omega from his crazed state. It worked, however, it triggered the other alpha in the table.

“How about you calm down, Mark Lee?” Hyunjin snarls, wrapping an arm around his mate in defense.

“Guys,” Felix intervenes, effectively snapping the two alphas from their mini glaring contest and gestures to a shaking Donghyuck. “You’re scaring him.”

Immediately, Mark drops the alpha act and scoots further away, dropping their laced hands in the process. As much as he would love nothing more than to gather the younger one in his arms and whisper sweet nothings, he had been told time and time again by Suho, Minhyuk, Wonho, and even Ten that when Donghyuck starts to feel threatened, it’s probably best to stay away. 

Soulmate or not, Mark was still an alpha.

So he does the only thing he could do in the situation. He talks.

“Hey Channie, I’m sorry about that. I didn’t mean to,” Mark starts. “To be fair, Jisung was being a real bitch, though.”

Jisung’s soft protest goes unheard as Mark continues, “Honestly I don’t know how you even managed to put up with them. They’re a mess, but then again, I can’t say anything ‘cause I literally live with the embodiment of satan’s children.”

With piqued interest, the three others in the table watched Mark talk to Donghyuck in a hushed tone while the latter seemed to latch onto his words while focusing on his words. It was kind of like magic, really. Mark somehow manages to cast a spell with his words until the young omega’s stance shifts from tense to relaxed.

“You ok?” Mark asks.

Donghyuck nods. “Y-Yeah. I’m okay now. Sorry about that.”

“No need to apologize,” Jisung intercepted just as Mark opened his mouth. “We’re sorry for fighting.”

“Yeah. Jisung gets a bit too carried away sometimes,” Hyunjin responds, earning him a smack from Felix.

“Like you were any better. You practically went all alpha on Mark,” the other omega snorts.

“Hey, don’t be so mean! Mark went alpha for Haechannie,” Hyunjin defends, pointing an accusatory finger towards the other.

“Okaaaay,” Mark exclaims. “Do you guys want to go to the bowling alley now?”

Everyone dissolves into laughter while Donghyuck flushes at the meaning behind Hyunjin’s teasing comments and Mark’s obvious attempt at a distraction. 

“Okay, okay. Let’s go to the bowling alley,” Felix announces, already standing up from his seat to stop any further banter. Much too enthusiastically, Mark agrees.

With another round of laughter, they all eventually leave the establishment with a lighter air around them. As much as Donghyuck wanted to fall into step with Mark and maybe hold his hand, Jisung and Felix were already by his side with matching grins.

“So,” Jisung drawls.

“Mark, huh?” Felix finishes.

‘Wh-What about him?” Donghyuck stammers, trying his best to remain unaffected. If only his body listened then maybe his act would’ve worked.

“He’s your soulmate,” Felix answers.

“And? Changbin hyung is your soulmate,” Donghyuck quickly retorts.

“Yeah, but they weren’t dancing around like two lovesick idiots,” Jisung chimes in just as fast. “You can’t hide it from us, Haechannie. You’re in _love_ with him.”

“Shush!” Donghyuck exclaims, pressing a finger to his lips as he glances in front to see if Mark had heard. “He doesn’t know!”

“Are you scared to tell him?” Jisung questions, much softer than the teasing tone that he used before.

“I feel like I might jinx everything if I say it,” Donghyuck shyly admits.

“Honey,” Felix coos. “Speaking as a completely objective third party observer with absolutely no personal interest in the matter-”

“Did you just quote She’s The Man?” Jisung says incredulously but is ignored as Felix continues on.

“-I think that no matter what you do, Mark will like you as you are. Confessing that you might be a tad in love with him won’t change anything. At all.”

“But I think he just likes me because we’re soulmates. Sure, he said differently, but I think it’s just the novelty of being soulmates that enamors him,” Donghyuck rambles on, relieved that he finally has someone to talk to about this aspect of his life.

“What did he say exactly?” Felix presses.

Donghyuck flushes at the memory of Mark’s...confession. At his hesitance, Jisung tries to calmly urge, “You can tell us. We won’t judge.”

“Well,” Donghyuck stalls. “H-He said that he….liked me? Even before he knew about us being soulmates? B-But he might’ve said it at the moment and-”

“Hey,” Felix calls out. “If Mark said so, then it must be true. You and I both know that he can’t lie very well to you. Remember when he came to pick you up before your stat class? He said that he just so happened to pass by, but we were literally in one of the most secluded places in the library.”

The young omega giggles at the reminder. “Yeah.”

“Mark may be trained to be a businessman, but we all know you’re his kryptonite. Let’s just believe in him, yeah?” Jisung adds.

“I guess,” Donghyuck mutters, not wanting to argue in a losing battle any longer. Objectively, he knows that his friends were probably right, but it was always his emotions that got the better of him. 

_You’re still working on it, Hyuck-ah. Let’s just do our best for now._

“Anyways, come on. We better get going before the two stinky alphas call dibs on who goes first,” Felix says, interlocking his and Donghyuck’s arms together as he happily skips to catch up with the two. 

Donghyuck barely keeps himself from tripping on his own feet. Just as he’s gotten a hold of his footing, Felix abruptly stops, causing him to crash right to, who he assumes to be, Felix.

“Woah, slow down,” a familiar voice says, holding onto Donghyuck’s arms to prevent him from falling.

“Mark,” Donghyuck proclaims in shock. He catches Jisung, Felix, and Hyunjin smiling at him knowingly from behind Mark’s shoulder. _Those bastards._

“You alright?” Mark asks, snapping Donghyuck from internally plotting a revenge trick to his friends.

“Yeah,” he exhales. Suddenly too aware of the gazes on him, Donghyuck hastily detaches himself from Mark and awkwardly asks, “Do you, uh, do you bowl?”

Mark chuckles. “A bit? I don’t go as often as other people but I’ve been pretty alright. Have you?”

“I’ve never gone. It was supposed to be my first time a couple of weeks ago,” Donghyuck answers, fiddling his hands in nervousness as he avoids eye contact with the alpha. _This is ridiculous. I feel like a protagonist in a shoujo anime._

“I’ll teach you,” Mark offers. 

Donghyuck looks up as he feels the older slowly wrap their hands together. He mirrors the sweet smile that was painted on the alpha’s face and ignores the cheers from his friends as he whispers, “You better teach me well, Mark Lee.”

When they finally resume their walk, after much teasing, Donghyuck finds himself still holding hands with Mark as they lagged behind the other three. 

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” 

Donghyuck hums in agreement. “It was...better than I thought it would be. Thank you for being here.”

“It’s my pleasure.”

“Now all that’s left is Nana and the rest,” Donghyuck groans. “Gosh, he’s gonna be such a pain in the ass to deal with.”

“He’s normally a pain in the ass, to begin with,” Mark laughs. “But don’t worry, he and the others are gonna be nice. I’ve made sure of it.”

Donghyuck stares at the other wide-eyed. “What did you do?”

Mark shrugs. “Nothing much, but let’s just say, that being next in line to lead the pack has some perks.”

Now, Donghyuck wasn’t ever one to be speechless. He usually talks very well, rarely ever experiencing a time where he’s left floundering for words, but he just couldn’t wrap his mind at the implication of Mark’s words. 

Mark, an alpha who can practically have anything he wants, is so kind and patient with him, even going as far as to make sure that he is comfortable around the people who have every right to yell and curse at him. Frankly, Donghyuck refuses to believe it.

As if sensing his struggle, Mark says, “I said I’ll protect you didn’t I?”

“My hero,” Donghyuck swoons excessively, wanting to ignore the pounding in his heart as much as he can. But with the way Mark smiles at him proudly in response, he knows that he can’t pretend any longer.

Something about Mark makes him want to believe. He wants to believe that he is worth the effort and care. It was easy to trust the words that came out of the alpha’s mouth when Mark looked at him like that. 

“Come on, let’s go before they start again,” Mark says, snapping him back to the reality at hand. Without answering, Donghyuck smiles and tugs them both nearer to the others. 

He hears Mark’s surprised yelp and barely conceals the laughter bubbling up in his chest. 

_I’ll believe for now._

-

“Hyuckie, I don’t see the problem with this.”

Donghyuck groans loudly into his phone and all but slams his face into his pillow, muffling his voice as he complains, “But Minhyuk hyung, you don’t understand! I’m getting too reliant on Mark.”

As soon as he got back, Donghyuck immediately readied himself for bed and tried to rid himself of his thoughts. After hanging out with Mark and the Stray Kiz members, he had a damning revelation and was already in the process of freaking out. He was hoping that he could ignore it and sleep it off, but alas that was not the case.

Just as he was going to close his eyes and will for sleep to come, Minhyuk had called asking how he was doing. The older omega was still a good person to confide in no matter his biases.

He hears the other side sigh, “You’re not reliant on Mark. Didn’t you say that you told Jisung and Hyunjin about your fear that maybe Mark is just in love with you because of a momentary feeling? You also confided in them.”

“I didn’t say he was in love,” Donghyuck weakly protests.

“Hyuck. You’ve been alone for so long so I don’t think you’re used to having someone protect and care for you. The way that Mark makes you feel doesn’t mean that you’re too dependent on him. It just means that you’re finding security in a relationship.”

Donghyuck pauses for a bit, thinking over the other’s words carefully. Minhyuk was wrong. He _had_ someone who protected and cared for him. 

Jihyun noona always did her best to shield the younger omegas, especially the weaker ones, from the dark clutches of the alphas and betas of their pack, even at her own expense. He always knew that there was someone who was looking over him, but security? 

He’s not sure he knows what that is.

Though he had Jihyun, she was just one person in charge of the wellbeing of ten other omegas. Donghyuck was well aware that he wasn’t the priority when it comes to safety, so he usually did as much as he could to help the older. Minjun did say one time that he was practically everyone’s older brother while Jihyun was the mom.

He’s so used to being relied on and sacrificing himself that having someone to do that for him in return was strange and off-putting.

“Don’t shut him out,” Minhyuk’s voice comes filtering in through his thoughts. “I know it’s scary. It’s new and different, and you probably want to run back to what’s familiar to you.”

_Wow, okay. You didn’t have to call me out like that_ , Donghyuck thinks, a bit too stupefied at the accuracy in the other’s statement. Nonetheless, Minhyuk continued on his tirade.

“But sweetie, different isn’t always bad. Sometimes we need these new things to live our best life. I’m not saying that you should open up and trust everyone all of a sudden. That takes time.”

“Then what are you asking me to do, hyung? Confess how much Mark affects me?”

“No,” Minhyuk firmly answers. “I’m asking you to be open to these feelings. Allow yourself to think that it’s okay to rely on someone from time to time.”

Donghyuck stills, unsure of what to say. He was torn between listening to the feelings that his soulmate brings and to the instincts he had built over years of captivity. Instead of settling on an answer, he cops out and replies, “I’ll try, hyung.”

“You’ll be okay,” Minhyuk says. Donghyuck could practically see the encouraging smile plastered on the other’s face as he said that statement.

“Now,” the other continued, clearing his throat. “What’s going on between you and Mark?”

“Hyuuuung,” Donghyuck whines, already feeling the blood rushing to his face.

“What? I want to know more about love life!”

“Th-there’s no love life! I-I don’t think I’m ready for...a relationship just yet.”

“That’s fair,” Minhyuk says. “Does Mark know that?”

“I...I haven’t said it explicitly, but I think he knows?”

“Yeah. That little alpha is pretty smart. But it’d be nice to talk to him about it sometime, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Donghyuck begrudgingly admits. Mark has nothing but understanding of him, so he thinks that it’s just fair to clear the air of any...difference in opinions. _Gosh that’s gonna be a terrible conversation._

“Also, a little birdie finally told me about you and Mark...how shall I say….slow dancing?” Minhyuk quickly changes the topic, knowing full well that it was best to change to a lighter topic rather than letting the younger dwell in his thoughts.

“Wonho hyung is such a snake,” Donghyuck grumbles.

“Hey now. He’s been dying from cuteness since then. It’s impressive he lasted this long,” Minhyuk defends. “And based on his description, you guys were really sweet.”

“Well, uh,” Donghyuck sputters, body tingling from remembering the ghost of the alpha’s touch. “It...It was nice.”

“How did you feel?”

Donghyuck bites his lip. “I felt...warm? I never thought that an alpha holding me would make me feel...for the lack of a better word, like home? It’s dumb but holding Mark close like that was just, really nice.”

“Excuse me for a moment,” Minhyuk says. From afar, Donghyuck could hear a high pitched squeal followed by a ‘“What the fuck, Minnie?”

It was a few more seconds later when he heard Minhyuk’s voice again. “Sorry, that was just too cute, I needed a moment.”

“Hyung, you’re so embarrassing,” Donghyuck cries, face now too warm from the statement.

“I can’t help it, Hyuck-ah! Hearing you happy makes all the giddy feelings just explode. I’m so glad you met Mark”

“I am too, hyung,” Donghyuck mutters. “I am too.”

-

It didn’t take too long for him to arrange another meeting. 

After talking with the Stray Kiz members, Donghyuck was somehow renewed with blind courage. Mark had been such a huge comfort, and as much as he didn’t want to rely on the older, he couldn’t deny that the knowledge of having the alpha around made it much easier.

He was still a nervous wreck though.

“Why did I agree to go back to your place for this?” Donghyuck mutters, rubbing his sweaty hands on his jeans while they waited for the elevator to bring them down to the lobby.

“It’ll be fine, Haechan,” Mark reassures once again. “Me, appa, and papa are gonna be your bodyguards. Maybe even Ten hyung too.”

“You don’t have to,” Donghyuck mumbles, before scoffing, “And besides, Ten hyung is probably going to skin me alive.”

Before Mark could react, however, the elevator dings, signaling that they have arrived at their destination. Donghyuck started fidgeting even more, mindlessly following Mark out to the lobby and into a sleek looking car.

“Hi, Haechan.”

Donghyuck manages a tight-lipped smile as he slightly bowed. “Hi Taeyong-ssi, Jaehyun-ssi.”

“Call us uncle, remember?” Jaehyun says with a kind smile. The older alpha doesn’t wait for a reply, choosing to pull out of the small parking space instead and driving to the direction of their home. 

The car ride was relatively silent despite Mark and Taeyong’s attempts at drawing the younger omega into a conversation. Everyone else could practically feel the nervousness radiate from Donghyuck so they decided to let him be. The only comfort that they could offer was their gentle smiles and Mark’s soft touch.

When their building was in their line of vision, Donghyuck’s breathing quickened. The reality of what he’s supposed to do comes crashing down on him.

“Who did you say will be there?” Donghyuck whispers to Mark, eye shifting all over the other’s figure as a form of distraction.

“Just the kids. We’re gonna be in our living room, if that’s okay with you,” Mark answers.

“Why there?”

“Uh,” Mark flushes, clearly not expecting the question directed at him.

“Well, Mark spend a lot of time there and we agreed that it will be better since his scent might help calm you down if you ever get overwhelmed. We were going to choose his room but given the number of people, it’s not feasible, ” Taeyong replies, ignoring Mark’s affronted whine and adds, “If you’re not comfortable with it, we can go to another floor.”

“No,” Donghyuck blurts out, face burning from embarrassment at how eager he sounded. “Uh, no thank you. I...I think that will be, uh, good.”

The knowing glance between Taeyong and Jaehyun went unnoticed as the two kids in the backseat were struggling to keep their composure together. Eventually, Jaehyun pulls in their reserved parking space. 

“You better have scented the living room well,” Donghyuck murmurs just as they exit the car. 

Mark bursts out in laughter. “Don’t worry. I did.”

The light-hearted remark passed by the younger’s mind. A haze settled itself into his mind, prompting his body to move in auto-pilot. He barely processed entering a floor that looked very different than the last time he was in the building. _Right. Mark’s floor._

What he didn’t expect however was running into a familiar face so soon.

“Ten hyung,” Mark stiffly greets.

“Mark,” the older omega answers just as tensely. Ten’s eyes shift from the alpha to the young boy who was trying to cower away from his faze. In a softer tone, he addresses, “Hello, Haechan.”

“H-Hi, Ten hyung,” Donghyuck stutters.

“Okay,” Taeyong declares, giving Ten a look as he continues, “We’re going to our side of the floor. We’ll call you if needed.”

Ten doesn’t protest, simply nodding in agreement and giving them a small bow as he walks away. Donghyuck doesn’t stop holding his breath until the man disappears into one of the hallways. _Why am I still scared? I already did what he wanted me to do._

“Come on,” Mark whispers. “Nana and the rest miss you.”

“They just miss me because I talk back to Renjun,” he immediately responds. Thank god, Donghyuck was nothing but witty.

“Renjun _is_ a handful,” Jaehyun happily chimes. “But Sicheng and Yuta are too in love with their son to admit it.”

Without further warning, the older alpha throws an arm over Mark’s shoulder and laughs. “I mean, look at me. I love Mark as much as a parent loves a child, but I’m not blind to how much of a loser he is.”

“Papa!” Mark wails, desperately trying to break away from his father’s grip. “Can you stop embarrassing me? At least once?”

“You’re my son. It’s basically my job to embarrass you.”

“Appa doesn’t!”

“Because _appa_ is not getting involved with you two,” Taeyong scolds. The leader turns away from the mess that is his husband and son, and gestures towards Donghyuck to come nearer. 

The young omega mindlessly followed the silent instruction and was rewarded with the older omega’s beautiful smile. 

“If we go ahead, they wouldn’t notice and they’d look really dumb.”

Donghyuck laughs in disbelief, unable to wrap his mind at the childish twinkle in Taeyong’s gaze. _This is the leader of NCT? What the heck?_

He could feel himself dumbly nod along to the suggestion, causing the smile in the older’s face to spread even wider. Taeyong lightly touches Donghyuck’s wrist, waiting for him to pull away. When the boy doesn't move, the leader, much too enthusiastically, pulls him along a hallway. 

The sound of Jaehyun and Mark’s banter become nothing more than a distant sound as the harmonious laughter between the two omegas echoed around the hallway. The haze that had settled in his mind fully encompassed him. This time, instead of the bundle of nerves that he felt when he got out of the car, it was warm. 

Donghyuck’s brain felt buzzed by the foreign sensation of happiness that came from being with Taeyong at that moment in time. Vaguely, he wonders if this was what it felt like to be in a family. _Stupid, don’t think of that. They’re Mark’s parents. They have to be nice to you._

“What the heck happened?”

He had been too caught up with Taeyong and the weird feeling that the past events brought, that he failed to notice that they entered a particularly large room and that they were very much not alone.

“It’s nothing, Renjun,” Taeyong waves, panting a bit as he waves off the curious glances in the room. “And remember to watch your language.”

“Sorry, Uncle,” Renjun replies, much more formal than his tone before. 

_Wow. Taeyong-ssi_ **_is_ ** _the leader. Oh my god, he did that with just one sentence._

“Where’s Mark hyung and Uncle Jaehyun?” Jeno asks.

Taeyong rolls his eyes and walks over to the group of people congregated in the living room area. “You know how they are, they’re probably still messing around with each other.”

His aura commanded respect and authority. The kids basically moved to make a path for him. When he stops midway to look over at Donghyuck, who was still frozen near the door, the young omega quickly complies and follows the leader.

Donghyuck was too aware of the number of eyes glued on him. Feeling uncomfortable at the attention thrown his way, he kept his gaze down and silently settled on the couch beside Taeyong and Jaemin. If anyone noticed that he scooted closer to the leader, no one said a thing.

While they waited for Mark and Jaehyun to arrive, conversation began flowing within the other members. In all honesty, Donghyuck wasn’t sure if he was allowed to listen in since they all seem to be talking about their pack and some concerns that they had. 

“Hey, Haechan.”

The sudden greeting startled Donghyuck. He hadn’t been expecting someone to talk to him, much less for that person to be Na Jaemin.

“H-Hi, Jaemin.”

The pink-haired boy pouts. “I told you to call me Nana.”

“Y-Yeah, but, I thought maybe you didn’t want me to call you that after…” Donghyuck trails off, not wanting to look at the other’s face, fully knowing that the alpha was probably staring at him intently.

“Hey,” Jaemin softly calls out, urging Donghyuck to face him. 

Rather than the cold, hard look he had been expecting, the alpha was looking at him with a gentleness that Donghyuck didn’t know the other could possess.

“I’m still Nana to you, okay?”

It was a simple statement. It shouldn’t’ve affected Donghyuck as much as it did, but it was a subtle reassurance - one that he didn’t know he needed until now. Just as he was going to say something in response, the door bursts open and in tumbles a ruffled up Mark and a beaming Jaehyun.

Mark’s eyes roamed around the room until he settled on Donghyuck. Upon seeing the choked up expression in the younger’s face, naturally, his alpha took one look at the Jaemin and immediately moved to protect the omega. 

Jaemin, already sensing the shit that was about to go down if he didn’t move away, stood up and plopped himself all over his mate, whining for attention in an attempt to distract the other members from the angry footsteps of the older. 

“Are you okay?” Mark hurriedly asks as soon as he takes a seat beside Donghyuck. He gazes around the young omega’s face in search of any indication that the other was hurt.

“I’m fine, Mark,” Donghyuck reassures. “Nana just said something that got to me.”

“What- I’m gonna-,” Mark begins to get up, eyebrows furrowed in anger as he readies himself to confront the other alpha. Before he could get to do his mission, Donghyuck holds him back, unknowingly letting out the faintest of his scent to calm him down.

“Mark, it’s nothing. He just kinda told me that everything between was still okay,” the omega hastily explains. He pulled Mark closer, the alpha not resisting as he began to crave the other’s scent more. 

“You smell nice,” Mark settles in saying.

As soon as the words left Mark’s mouth, Donghyuck immediately masked his scent. He hadn’t even realized what he was doing, and it honestly unnerved him. Hiding his scent was something he always prided himself with. It was a skill that he continuously worked on until even in sleep, his smell was hidden. It was only the things that he touched that reminded people of his natural scent.

_This is all Mark’s fault. Stupid soulmate._

“Alright,” Taeyong claps. “Now that Jaehyun and Mark are here, we can start with our agenda for today. If you guys have any questions, you can ask Haechan. But remember to keep your tone and questions safe. I will not hesitate to remove you from the room if you purposely become aggressive.”

“Yes, Uncle,” everyone chorused.

“Good,” Taeyong nods. 

“Haechan,” Jaehyun says from beside Taeyong. “They don’t know much but the kids have been told that you didn’t have a great experience growing up. You can start from there.”

“Actually, hyung,” Xiaojun speaks up, looking over to the others with the same guilty expression. “We have a confession to make.”

“What is it?” Taeyong raises an eyebrow.

“You say it,” Xiaojun mutters, pointing to Jaemin. 

“Why me?” the alpha complains. “Why can’t you say it?”

“Boys,” Jaehyun reprimands. “One of you better come forward and say it right now.”

“Okay fine,” Jisung asserts, exasperated at the back and forth that was happening. “After they brought Mark hyung home and got taken care of by you and Uncle Taeyong, us kids met up in the common room.”

Jeno nods at Jisung for confirmation, spurring the alpha to continue, “Everyone was shocked and wanted to know what was up, so Xiaojun hyung and Nana hyung wanted to dig up a bit more. Then, we, uh, saw that Haechan hyung met up with Ten hyung and Uncle Suho at one point.”

“We decided to talk to Ten hyung,” Jaemin intercepts. “But he just got mad at us and warned us to stop looking into Haechannie, but you know how we never listen, right?”

“What did you guys do?” Taeyong asks, eyes narrowing. 

Jaemin flinched but still managed to push through. “Since Ten hyung was really good at tech stuff, none of us could find anything online about Haechannie. But, uh, Lucas hyung and Jungwoo hyung somehow got a glimpse of...this file.”

_Oh no_ , Donghyuck thinks, heart pounding at the possibility of what the file was. _Don’t tell me they saw that._

“Xiaojun, Hendery, and Yangyang managed to distract Ten hyung while Jisung and Chenle distracted Johnny hyung long enough for me, Jeno and Renjun to sneak in their workroom and steal the file.”

“Y-You saw?” Donghyuck stammers, flushing red in embarrassment as he remembers the content of the file. _The photos._

“Why? What’s wrong about the file Haechan?” Taeyong inquires, getting more worried as Donghyuck seems to fall into a pit of anxiety.

“I-I’m sorry, Haechannie. We didn’t know,” Jaemin apologizes. Everyone else in the room, aside from Taeyong, Jaehyun, and Mark, looked at him guiltily.

“We really are,” Lucas affirms, sporting an expression that can only be described as a kicked puppy. But not even the sincerity or the cuteness could snap Donghyuck from his spiral.

_They saw_ , was all Donghyuck’s mind could process. _They know. They’ve seen you._

“Hey,” Mark whispers. “Are you still with me? Haechannie, breathe.”

Donghyuck could only nod in response. He wanted to run away and hide, but right now, his body wasn’t listening. He was frozen. Desperately, he tries to look at Mark and convey his need to leave the situation. Mark understood.

“Come on. We can go to my room, if you want,” Mark softly suggests, resisting his urge to touch the other.

Donghyuck simply nods and barely follows Mark towards the room, his legs were wobbling horribly and it felt like he could faint at any time, but somehow, he managed. No one stopped them. 

Just before they could hide in the confines of Mark’s room, he hears Taeyong growl, “One of you get Ten here and you will tell me what’s inside those files.”

He could feel his breathing stop. _Everyone will know. They will all see me._

Anxiety has finally taken over his senses. He didn’t notice the soft shut of the door, nor the pain in his knees as his leg finally caved from beneath him. He didn’t notice the way his breathing became ragged, nor how he instinctively crawled towards a corner for safety. He didn’t even notice Mark frantically pull out his phone and worriedly talked to someone.

His body burned from the stress. He could practically feel his scent wanting to break free from the effort he exerted in keeping it in check.

_Danger_ , his mind screamed. _You’re in danger._

“Hyuckie?”

Donghyuck’s head snapped from his curled position to look at the source. Mark, with tears in his face, was holding a phone in front of him.

“Hyuckie, it’s me.”

“M-Minhyuk hyung?” Donghyuck struggles to ask. 

_Danger. He’s in danger too._

“Are you okay, hyung? Are you hurt?”

“I’m safe, Hyuck-ah. You are too. No one’s going to hurt you.”

“N-No. Hyung, they will- th-they know,” Donghyuck stammer unintelligibly. “They’re going to...they’re going to-”

“They won’t, sweetie,” Minhyuk comforts. “No one’s going to touch or hurt you. You’re not in the Lee pack anymore. You’re with Taeyong, remember? He’s going to make sure that everything is fine.”

“T-Taeyong-ssi was mad. H-He’s going to let them take me, hyung. I-I need to leave, b-but my body won’t listen,” Donghyuck rambles, unaware of the way Mark’s heart was breaking at his words. “Wh-Where are you, hyung? W-We have to leave.”

“I’m back at home with my mate, baby. I’m safe,” Minhyuk softly reassures. “Mark’s there, isn’t he? He’ll protect you.”

“N-No, h-he’s an alpha. He’ll hurt me.”

The fear that laced his tone perfectly complemented the worry that was woven into the omega’s face. He looked so vulnerable, so afraid. Mark hadn’t realized how much hurt that the younger experienced until now, and how difficult it was to move past it. He was dumb for thinking that everything was going to be fine as long as they take it step by step. 

Progress isn’t linear, Mark realizes, and as much as he wants Donghyuck to trust him, it wasn’t going to come easy. 

“But Mark’s your soulmate, right?” Minhyuk questions, interrupting Mark from his small moment of clarity.

“R-Right.”

“Do you remember how Mark, your soulmate, made you feel? Remember what you told me a couple days ago?”

Donghyuck shakily nods. “Y-Yeah. H-He makes me feel safe.”

Despite the mess of sweat and tears, he was reduced to, the alpha internally felt himself swoon. 

“Right now, you’re with your soulmate, okay? He’s going to keep you safe from everything that’s happening, and you won’t have to run away. You’re going to be fine, Donghyuck.”

Briefly, Miyoung appears in his mind. Donghyuck held unto the older’s words. He was safe. He was with his soulmate. 

_I’m going to be fine,_ he forcefully chants to himself until he can feel his breathing begin to stabilize. _You’re with your soulmate. Not an alpha. You’re okay. You’re safe._

Little by little, Donghyuck begins to become more aware of his surroundings and begins to realize just how embarrassing he was acting.

A couple more breaths later, he wills himself to speak, “So, uh, how are you?”

“I’ve been better,” Mark exhales, chest still rising and falling hectically while he watches the younger with concern. “You?”

“Could be better,” Donghyuck retaliates with a jittery smile. He was still pathetically curled up on the floor in the corner of his crush’s room. _Great_. 

With as much strength he could muster, Donghyuck shakily stands up. Mark extends his hands, hovering around the other’s small frame in case Donghyuck falls. 

“Thank you,” Donghyuck mutters as soon as he was sure that the feeling in his legs returned. 

“It’s nothing,” Mark dismisses, dropping his arms right back down his sides. “Do you want to lay down in bed?”

“Oh no, I’m fine. I’ve caused you enough trouble as it is.”

“You’re never trouble to me,” Mark reflexively answers. “If you want, we can just sit in my bed. It’s probably a lot more comfortable than the floor.”

“O-Okay.”

The two boys soundlessly pad their way towards the king-sized bed in the middle of the room. Now that Donghyuck was seated, he allowed himself to glaze over the room. 

It wasn’t anything super fancy. Mark’s room was big, but it seems that he wasn’t a keen decorator. Most of the stuff was filled with strewn clothes, books, a guitar, and even some stray souvenirs from various places he’d visited. 

Donghyuck liked it.

The room felt alive, like someone has actually lived in this space and made a home out of it - the complete opposite of his own empty unit.

“You have a nice room,” Donghyuck resolves in saying. 

“Thank you,” Mark replied. “This has been the same room I had since I was a kid and I went through that phase where I tried to get rid of my cringey stuff so yeah, it’s kinda torn up and boring, haha.”

“I don’t think it’s boring. It’s really lovely,” Donghyuck says. “Much better than mine anyway.”

“Your unit isn’t bad. It’s really pretty,” Mark encourages. “It’s just...lacking, I guess? For someone so full of life, your place doesn’t match.”

“You think I’m full of life?” Donghyuck repeats, disbelief plastered all over his face. Mark doesn’t seem to understand the confusion in the younger’s disposition so he dumbly nods. 

“I mean, yeah? Literally everyone thinks so?”

“You’re just saying that,” Donghyuck replies bashfully. 

“Okay, fine, admittedly, I might be a bit biased but I genuinely believe that no one suits the name Haechan better than you.”

The glint in Mark's eyes was too much for Donghyuck. Awkwardly laughing, he says, “Whatever you say, my dude.”

Having nothing else to say, Mark throws himself back unto the bed, his legs dangling from the edge of the bed. He pats the space beside him in a silent invitation, to which Donghyuck stiffly obeys.

As the omega’s back hits the mattress, a strong whiff of cedarwood and lavender puffs up around him. Almost instantly, Donghyuck melts into the sheets, enjoying the lovely scent that surrounded him. It really smelled like Mark.

_Mark_ , his brain reminds.

“Hey,” he calls out, suddenly sitting up from his position. 

“What is it, Channie?” Mark questions, following the other’s actions as he stared at him inquisitively.

“Uh,” Donghyuck stalls, wringing his hands together. “I know we’re...soulmates and all, but um, I, I’m not sure if I’m ready to be in, in a relationship.”

Mark opens his mouth to speak, but is cut off by Donghyuck’s agitated babble. “I’m, uh, I’m sorry. I mean, if you want to be in a relationship, I won’t mind, haha. You’re the alpha, so whatever you want, I’ll follow. I just said it on the spur of the moment, haha. Minhyuk hyung told me to, but, uh, it’s dumb, sorry.”

“I’m glad you told me,” Mark gently replies. “And yes, I’m an alpha, but that doesn’t make my opinion any more valuable than yours. Your feelings are just as important as mine, okay? And I would never force you to be in a relationship with me.”

Donghyuck was clearly not expecting that answer. “You’re actually too nice, what the fuck. What did I do to have you as a soulmate?”

Mark shyly laughs. “Don’t flatter me, Channie. It’s just common decency.”

“No, it’s kindness,” Donghyuck firmly defends, causing the alpha to slightly frown. The omega genuinely believed that being given a choice was an act of kindness rather than the norm. 

“You always have a choice,” Mark retaliates, unyielding in his stance while he looks at the younger with a silent promise in his stare.

Before they could argue any further, a knock was heard. A few moments later, Taeyong’s face pops up. 

“Hey, kids. Mind if I come in?”

“I don’t mind. How about you, Channie?” Mark asks, looking over to Donghyuck inquisitively. Their previous conversation rings in Donghyuck’s mind and, with a parched throat, he mutters, “It’s fine.”

Taeyong nods and quietly shuts the door behind him as he makes his way to sit beside Donghyuck on the bed. The younger omega visibly stiffens, already readying for whatever beating comes his way.

“I’m sorry,” the leader says.

_Wait, what?_

“I didn’t check on the kids enough to notice what they were doing. I was too caught up with Mark, you, and the business that I hadn’t realized that the kids would be too restless to wait for a week or so to find out,” Taeyong rambles. “And I’m sorry as well, on behalf of my pack and myself, for having seen...some things that I’m sure you wanted to hide.”

“I-It’s okay,” Donghyuck tries to dismiss, not used to this kind of treatment. _Jesus, they’re acting as if they were the ones who spent their whole lives ruining mine._

“It’s not, and I deeply apologize for the hurt that we have caused you,” Taeyong sincerely states, bending his whole torso forward to bow as an apology. 

With widened eyes, Donghyuck’s hands come up to frantically bring the older back into a sitting position. “T-Taeyong-ssi! Y-You don’t have to do this! I-I’m fine, really. It was my fault for being too sensitive.”

“Don’t be sorry for how you’re feeling, Haechan-ah. We were too caught up in our own emotions that we overlooked the reason why you choose to hide.”

“It was bound to come up anyway,” Donghyuck murmurs in a feeble attempt to brush off the conversation.

“It should’ve been at your own pace.”

Donghyuck was already running out of the will to argue against Taeyong so instead, he turns to Mark and grumbles, “You really are his son.”

Taeyong and Mark laughed, caught off guard by the sudden remark.

“I’ve raised him well, then,” Taeyong pridefully states, looking over to Mark with, what Donghyuck assumes to be, parental love. “As much as I’d love to stay here and talk with you both, I think that Jaehyun has been scolding them long enough.”

“Papa’s scary sometimes,” Mark whispers to the younger, but Taeyong still caught the words. 

“Now, now. The kids already felt bad so Jaehyun’s going easy on them,” Taeyong reprimands. “But Haechan-ah, everyone would like to apologize to you. Even Ten.”

_Ten hyung?_

“You don’t have to forgive them right away. But I’m afraid that I won’t be able to hold them off from running to you and apologizing,” Taeyong says.

“I-It’s okay. I was never mad at them in the first place.”

Taeyong’s expression softens. “You’re a good kid, Haechan. You should be a bit more selfish.”

“Selfish?” Donghyuck repeats. He knows of the word, even knows the meaning of it, but he always associated it with the alphas and the betas of the Lee pack. _Does Taeyong-ssi want me to be like them?_

“He just means that you should put yourself first sometimes,” Mark explains. “Appa is saying that because he’s mad that they invaded your privacy like that and he wants them to grovel a bit before you forgive them.”

“Mark!” Taeyong exclaims, affronted by his son’s words. “Don’t just say things even if they’re true.”

“It’s nothing to be mad about,” Donghyuck mutters, trying to stop the two from debating. Wrong choice of words, apparently, because both Mark and Taeyong’s gaze darkened.

“It _is_ something to be mad about, Haechan-ah. But we won’t tell you how to feel. If you forgive them, you forgive them,” Taeyong declares. “Come then. Let’s hear their apologies.”

“We’ll follow you outside, appa,” Mark replies. He and Taeyong stared at each other for a moment before they nodded in understanding. Soundlessly, Taeyong stands up and exits the room.

“Are you ready to go?” Mark asks, staring at the young omega closely.

“N-No. I’m not ready, but better now than later, right?” Donghyuck replies, smiling at the alpha unsteadily.

“Do you want to hold my hand?” 

Donghyuck flushes at the straight forward question. Nonetheless, he shyly nods and answers, “I-If that’s okay.”

Mark sweetly smiles at him and slowly intertwines their hands together. “It’s more than okay.”

They stayed like that for a while, each enjoying their little moment together before Mark eventually squeezes the omega’s hand as a silent reminder of what they have to do. Donghyuck sighs and allows himself to be tugged up into a standing position. 

“If things get too much for you, tap my hand three times, okay? I’ll do my best to divert their attention,” Mark suggests. 

“I will,” Donghyuck responds, feeling more than grateful for the offer. Filled with much more courage, the omega takes a deep breath and tightens his grip on Mark’s hand as he braces himself for what awaits on the other side.

When they finally step outside the safety of Mark’s room, Donghyuck is surprised to find a boy running straight for him. The omega stumbles backward at the force, his hand slipping out of his soulmate’s grip. _Uncle Taeyong wasn’t kidding._

“Lele!” Mark shouts.

“We’re sorry, hyung. We’re really really sorry,” Chenle’s muffled voice quivers. “We didn’t mean to do that to you. Really, I-I hope you can forgive us. Y-You shouldn’t’ve gone through all that, we-we want you to know that we love you, okay? We love you, hyung.”

Donghyuck, ever so soft for the cute omega, tenderly wraps one arm around Chenle’s waist and pats the boy’s head. Gingerly, he tells the other, “It’s okay, Chenle. I already forgive you guys.”

Chenle pulls away sniffling and stares at Donghyuck’s face. “B-But you probably didn’t want us to see that. W-we should’ve waited for you to tell us.”

Seeing the teary, concerned face of the younger boy, Donghyuck couldn’t help but be reminded of Minjun. Affectionately, he brings the hand from behind the younger’s head in front, and caresses Chenle’s cheeks, wiping away the stray tears that have fallen into the boy’s untainted face.

“You’re right. But what’s done is done, okay? Let’s move on from there,” Donghyuck reassures, heart brimming with fondness as the smaller boy nods. “Let’s go to the others, yeah?”

Instead of replying, Chenle pulls away from Donghyuck and clings into the older’s arm. 

Mark watches in envy as he sees the way Donghyuck smiles warmly at the younger boy. Trying not to sound too possessive, Mark announces, “Come on. We’ve been standing here for too long. Everyone’s waiting already.”

True enough, when Donghyuck pulled his gaze away from the omega in his arm to the room around them, everyone was staring at them. Getting bashful at the attention, Donghyuck clung a bit tighter to Chenle. 

The trio made their way to the empty space between Taeyong and Jaehyun. Donghyuck was squished in the middle of a clingy Chenle and a sulky Mark. As if sensing the alpha’s downed mood, Donghyuck uses his free hand to fiddle with the other’s knee. 

“Okay. As we agreed, Ten you go first,” Jaehyun declares, using a tone of authority that he had never imagined to hear. Donghyuck had always perceived the alpha to be like, well for the lack of a better word, bread? Always so soft and easy to get along with. 

“Okay,” Ten replies, clearing his throat in preparation for the mini-speech he had drafted in his mind. “I know this was a long time coming, but I apologize for my actions. I dug around your past and discovered things that most likely reminded you of things that you’d rather forget.”

Before Donghyuck could protest, Ten raises his hand to prevent the other from speaking. “Please don’t contradict me. I know I was wrong and I even, not so nicely I might add, made you talk to Mark. Though I was doing it for the betterment of Mark, I could’ve approached it differently. I’m just sorry that it had to take Mark confronting me for me to realize how wrong my actions were.”

“You confronted Ten hyung?” Donghyuck asks Mark, confused at Ten’s statement. 

“Well,” Mark blushes. “After we met up with you, Monsta X, and EXO, I couldn’t rid myself of what you said, you know about Ten hyung making you tell me about, uh, you being an omega, so I talked to him about it.”

“Yeah, talk,” Chenle scoffs from beside him. “Mark got so mad at one point that his alpha came out. Johnny hyung had to step in and protect his mate.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” Mark weakly defends. 

“Wasn’t that bad? Me and Jaehyun had a hard time calming you down,” Taeyong, from beside Mark, chimes in. 

“Okay, can we not talk about how Mark literally was going to sock me in the face? I’m trying to say sorry here,” Ten whines. 

“You’re right, this is rare for him so take it while you can,” Jaehyun teases.

“Shut up, Jaehyun,” Ten snaps and turns his attention back to Donghyuck, shifting his expression to something softer. “Well, that’s my apology. Do as you wish with it.”

Just as Ten was about to gesture for Jungwoo to take over and lead the conversation, Donghyuck says, “I, um, I accept your apology? I understand why you did it, hyung so, uh, please don’t feel bad.”

Ten freezes in his spot. For a moment, Donghyuck thinks that he spots a flash of vulnerability passing through the older’s face but as quickly as it came, it also vanished. 

“Wow, you’re a lot nicer than Mark,” was what came out of Ten’s mouth. “Go ahead, Jungwoo. We don’t have all day.”

Taeyong smiles at Ten softly and opens up his arms. Ten all but bulldozes right into Taeyong’s lithe limbs and buries his head on the older’s chest. Before Donghyuck could question it, Jungwoo stands up and calls for his attention.

“Okay so, Chenle basically summed up how we feel, and, even though you basically said that it was okay, we are genuinely sorry,” Jungwoo outlines. “We will be more aware of our actions from now, and won’t allow our emotions to control us again.”

From the corner of his eye, he sees Jaemin, Lucas and Yangyang vaguely gesturing at him. Understanding their notion, he adds, “And, if it’s okay with you, some of us would like to hug you. I’ll have to warn you though, the ones that will be hugging you will be crying and slobbering all over you.”

Donghyuck glances at the three boys who seemed to be on the verge of jumping from their seat and giggles. _I don’t think there’s any harm in it._

“Sure.”

As soon as Donghyuck gave his consent, Jaemin, Lucas, and Yangyang quickly bounded over to him like a bunch of young puppies. Chenle saw this and quickly planted himself on Donghyuck’s lap, screeching, “Haechan hyung is mine!”

In a flash, the omega was covered in various scents. 

“Haechan, I’m sorry I shouln’t’ve-”

“We didn’t mean to-”

“I should’ve asked you first, I-”

The mix of sentences blurred with the sweat and tears of the four boys snuggled up to him. Donghyuck would’ve been overwhelmed by the presence of so many people around him, but the pathetic whines and sniffles from the others only pulled out laughter from the omega’s chest.

“It’s okay, guys. We’re okay,” Donghyuck tells them, choosing to bask in the affection. _I’ve missed this._

“Now, now, kids,” Taeyong placates. “Stop smothering the poor boy. Let’s order take out and watch some movies, yeah?”

“Yeah, okay,” Jaemin agrees, snot still running down his nose as he, along with the rest, pulls away. Donghyuck was left on the couch, warm and sticky with sweat and tears. 

Taeyong’s statement caused the room to erupt into a form of chaos. Some of the kids began debating among themselves as to what food they were going to order while the rest argued at the movie choice. The remaining adults in the room, Ten, Taeyong, and Jaehyun struggled to reign them in.

“Uncle Taeyong likes hosting movie nights especially when he knows that someone from the pack feels down,” Lucas tells him with a bright smile before he moves to join in Renjun and Hendery’s argument.

_Someone from the pack_ , Donghyuck’s mind latches into the phrase. _Does...Does that mean that Taeyong-ssi considers me...a pack member?_

“Hey, you okay?” Mark asks, stopping Donghyuck from falling into further analyzing Lucas’ words. 

“Yeah, just, kinda overwhelmed,” Donghyuck replies with a small, insecure smile. 

“Take your time. You’ll be fine,” Mark says, placing a gentle hand on top of his hand. 

“Yeah,” Donghyuck agrees. “I think I will be.”

  
  


-

  
  


“So this is me.”

“Yeah.”

Mark and Donghyuck stand awkwardly, once again, in front of the omega’s unit. They were both obviously stalling for time but neither of them didn’t know what else to say. After some painfully awkward seconds, Mark eventually clears his throat.

“Well, uh, it was nice hanging out with you Haechan. We should do it again sometime.”

“Call me Donghyuck.”

“Huh?”

Donghyuck smiles at him hesitantly. “I mean, you already know, right? Lee Donghyuck. That’s my name.”

“Are you sure? You don’t have to force yourself,” Mark replies, worried that he might’ve unknowingly pushed himself on the younger.

“Yeah. I’m sure.”

“Okay, then,” Mark says. “See you soon, Donghyuck.”

Hearing his name roll of the tongue of the alpha had a different effect on the younger. He couldn’t stop the dopey smile that spread on his face even if he wanted to. 

“See you soon, Mark,” Donghyuck mumbles. Before he could disappear into the safety of his unit, however, he adds, “I’ll text you about meeting up next time.” 

The squeal that Mark had let out was highly unsuitable for the image of a young alpha heir, but it didn’t matter. Donghyuck wasn’t faring any better, anyways.

For the first time, when Donghyuck goes back to his bed, his brain is silent. No terrible memories popped up unannounced. He didn’t feel the fear of having someone walking in and violating him. 

For once, Donghyuck believed he was going to be fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, uh, that's the end of the main story! i will be doing one last chapter for the epilogue so my ending cheesy message will be there, hehe. hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! 
> 
> as always constructive criticism is always appreciated <3


	14. You Are The Sun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> epilogue!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ,,,i know this has taken a long time, and i have no excuses but I'm gonna make excuses anyways :'D 
> 
> i really enjoyed writing this story so i mayhaps have been putting it off 'cause i didn't want to end just yet, that and it was hard to think a nice epilogue.
> 
> without further ado, here's the epilogue!
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter contains themes of rape and sexual harassment. If you are uncomfortable with it, please do take that in mind before reading this chapter.

Epilogue:

Mark was right. 

The few people that knew of Donghyuck’s existence somehow noticed the difference in his scent (he fully blames it all on the required PE classes. It wasn’t his fault that his smell oozes out when he’s physically tired), and, before he knew it, he was the talk of the school. The omega was used to having people stare, it’s what he gets for befriending the NCT members after all, but this was new.

Now, everyone was looking at him, talking  _ about _ him. 

True to his word, though, Mark did his best to prevent people from interrogating Donghyuck. Apparently the Stray Kidz and NCT members organized schedules as to who he was going to be with while Mark and Jungwoo took into their hands to communicate with other packs in regards to keeping people at bay.

At first, the younger boy didn’t even notice. Donghyuck was too caught up with enjoying his friends’ presence to see the warning gazes of the people around him when someone stared too long. It wasn’t until one rather bold alpha came right up to their little group and confronted them about it.

Donghyuck was with Felix and Jisung in a small corner in the library. What was supposed to be a nice, peaceful study session became a memory that he’d rather forget.

“What the hell is your problem?”

Startled by the sudden presence, Felix blurted out, “The fuck?”

“Our pack leader has been reprimanding us every time we talked about you. Heck, even when we so much as look your way!” the alpha all but shouts. “I was just curious. There’s no need to be such a fucking ass about it.”

_ Jaemok _ , Donghyuck recognizes.  _ Wasn’t he in one of my classes? Which was it? _

“Well, I’m sorry you feel that way,” Jisung, the ever so calm omega, says with such composure. 

When Jaemok didn’t move away yet, Jisung raised an eyebrow. “Is there anything else you need to tell us?”

The alpha flushes red in anger. “More like  _ you _ need to tell me something!”

“As far as I know, there’s nothing we need to say,” Felix retorts.

Seeing as he was getting nowhere with the two, the strange alpha turns to Donghyuck threateningly and growls, “Tell me why you’re an omega now. I spent one whole semester as your groupmate for English and you didn’t even tell me?!”

“He’s not obliged to tell you anything,” Jisung defends, growling protectively. 

_ God, why can’t a staff find us or something _ , Donghyuck bemoans in his mind, fingers twitching habitually. His eyes kept darting towards the only exit from their little corner, already planning their escape. 

“I didn’t hang out with this imposer of an alpha for a long time only to be left in the dark,” Jaemok snarls and grips into Donghyuck’s chin, forcing the omega to look into the sinister glint of the other. 

“And after all,” the alpha continues, voice dripping with a disgustingly saccharine voice, “I could’ve been tapping you for a while. Do you know how hard it is to stop myself from going for you? I’m so glad that you’re an omega.”

“Hands off,” Jisung snarls, clasping tightly unto the alpha’s unwanted arm but was crudely brushed off. 

“No,  _ you  _ hands-off,” Jaemok retaliates, his eyes shifting red as he forces the other two omegas into submission. “Now, leave.”

“We’re-”

“ _ Leave _ .”

Felix and Jisung unwillingly whimper, trying desperately to fight against their biology and break free from the restraints, but they couldn’t. The two packmates weren’t used to fighting against their natural instincts so their inner omega howled in submission. Donghyuck, aware that he was the most competent person to rebel against the forceful compliance, looks at them serenely and silently conveys for them to leave.

Having no other choice, both Felix and Jisung scampered out of their little corner, leaving Donghyuck alone with the very handsy alpha.

“Now that we’re alone, what say you and I go out, yeah? I’m sure we’ve  _ both  _ been waiting for this for some time now.”

Donghyuck’s breath hitches, the words that he’d been trying to let out got stuck in his throat. He wanted to run away and leave the situation forever, but he was rooted in his spot. He couldn’t help but think of the consequences of his actions. 

_ Will they leave Felix and Hyunjin alone? Will he come for them? _

In fear of having his friend suffer because of his selfishness, Donghyuck stayed. He allowed Jaemok’s hands to wander all over his body. It’s been a while since he had felt violated. Mark had made him feel safe and listened to the past few months. 

_ Mark.  _   
  


At the thought of his soulmate, Donghyuck instinctively relaxes, momentarily forgetting the sticky situation he was in. He thinks of Mark’s smile, how it pulls at the corners of the alpha’s mouth until affection and joy overtakes the other’s face. He thinks of Mark’s comforting scent and imagines it engulfing his being as he sneakily leans closer with the excuse of it being cold.

“You enjoying yourself, sweetheart?”

Donghyuck was rudely pulled out of his thoughts when one hand was wrapped around his throat. Jaemok’s face was hovering too close to the omega’s face much to Donghyuck’s liking. 

“Answer me. Are you enjoying yourself?” the alpha demands.

“I-” Donghyuck stammers, hand flying up instinctively as the grip in his neck tightened. 

“Sorry? What was that? I didn’t quite hear you.”

The omega was now trying to claw the hand away. Donghyuck was having trouble breathing, but Jaemok basked in the sight. He loved seeing the smaller boy flushed, desperate, and oh so pitiful. Vaguely, the alpha registers that what he’s doing is wrong, but he can’t help it. There was something twisted inside of him that only got fueled even further by the omega under his hold.

As Jaemok started getting too carried away, a distant yell was heard somewhere nearby. Before he could process, however, a fist was already connecting to his jaw. 

“What the-”

“Stay away from him.”

Jaemok falters for a bit, shocked at the sudden commotion. When his eyes met red though, he felt a smirk form in his face as he said, with as much arrogance in his tone, “Oh, Mark Lee. What brings you here?”

“Keep this up, and we’ll see how much you’ll be able to talk,” Mark answers, deathly serious as he clenches his fists in an attempt to stop them from flying. 

“Come on,  _ Markie _ ,” Jaemok antagonizes, shifting his gaze to the stunned omega. “Me and  _ Haechannie _ here were just having some fun, right?”

“Bullshit.”

Before any more words can be thrown, maybe fists too, a voice pierces through. “Stop.”

Upon hearing a voice of authority, the two alphas stop in their little contest. Fearfully, Mark, and Jaemok’s gaze traced over to the chillingly familiar sound. There, in all her glory, was Miss Gwonki - one of the most terrifying beta teachers on the whole campus. No matter what course or year you are in, students are bound to hear the stories and warnings of having her as a teacher.

It wasn’t as if she was terrible, oh no she was a wonderful teacher, just one that had unreasonably high expectations on her students - both academically and behaviorally. 

“We ran outside to find a security guard but we were stopped by Miss, so we told her everything and she came here with us,” Jisung, who was standing behind Miss Gwonki, spoke up. From beside him, Felix nods enthusiastically. 

“Of course you fucking snitches,” Jaemok seethes from under his breath before plastering on a sickeningly sweet fake smile and exuded as much charm as he can. “Miss Gwonki, hi. How have you been?”

The teacher only stared at him impassively and crossed her arms. “Don’t bother me with pleasantries, young man. You are in big trouble.”

“I haven’t done anything, Miss. Me and Haechan here were just talking until Mark came and picked a fight.”

“I did  _ not _ . You were harassing, Haechan!” Mark defends, physically stopping himself from pouncing on the other.

“Shut up, the both of you,” Miss Gwonki commands. She then softens her tone as she addresses the small omega who was still in a defensive position, “Why don’t you come here? Haechan, right?”

Startled at being called, Donghyuck stared at the woman wide-eyed. He was still running on fear, so he merely eyed the beta woman in front of them and stood still.  _ If she gets mad I’ll go, but for now, I think I can make a break for it. _

“Hyuckie,” Mark whispers.  _ Holy shit when did he near me? _

“You’re fine. I’m here. Miss Gwonki won’t hurt you. No one’s going to hurt you,” his soulmate continues reassuring him. The smell of cedarwood and lavender wrapped itself around Donghyuck’s body, cocooning him away from the prying scents of the people near them. 

A few weeks into hanging out with NCT, they discovered that having Mark’s scent near Donghyuck whenever he got too in his head was a good way of calming the boy down. Though the phenomenon was subject to light teasing from Renjun and Hendery, Donghyuck couldn’t refute it if he tried. It wasn’t his fault that Mark smelled like what he imagines home to be.

“I’m with you, Mark,” the omega murmurs. “I’m here.”

The alpha gives him a small smile. “Let’s go to Miss Gwonki, okay? She’ll help us.”

“Are you sure?” Donghyuck asks, worry etched into his face as he holds unto the other’s shirt to prevent him from leaving. Nevermind that Mark was an alpha and could probably hurt the older woman if he wanted. Mark is his soulmate, and he wants nothing more than to protect him.

Mark looks at him comfortingly and rests a hand on top of Donghyuck’s grip. “I am. And if anything suspicious happens, we get out immediately, okay?”

Still not convinced, Donghyuck stares at the taller’s eyes, wishing for him to say otherwise, but only saw determination. Begrudgingly, he obliges. “Okay.”

“Miss, with all due respect, this is some horse shit. They’re clearly trying to paint me as the bad guy,” Jaemok complains loudly only to receive a scathing glare from the teacher.

“Quiet, kid. Come. Let’s all take a trip to the disciplinary office, shall we?”

“But miss-”

“Don’t argue with me. You’re lucky that I’m bringing you there. If it were up to me, you’d be receiving a harsher punishment,” Miss Gwonki threatens, effectively snapping the boy back into attention. “Now, come. Every one of you.”

Seeing that he had no other choice, Jaemok immediately walks over and cozies near the teacher, already rambling about his innocence and the dubious nature of their statements. Felix and Jisung quickly went to Miss Gwonki’s other side to disprove the other’s claims. 

“You okay, Hyuck-ah?”

Donghyuck looked over to the sound and was met with Mark’s soft gaze, his face barely tampering down his concern. 

“Y-Yeah. I-I’m fine. It’s nothing I’m not used to,” the omega waves, hoping that the worried wrinkles in the other’s face would disappear. He was wrong, though. If anything, it only deepened.

“You shouldn’t have gotten used to it,” Mark utters, a hint of anger making its way known before he clears his throat and repeats, “I won’t let you get used to it again.”

“Mark,” Donghyuck trails off and reaches out to hold the other’s arm in reassurance. “It’s fine, okay? Don’t-”

“No, Hyuck-ah. I  _ will _ protect you from falling back into those kinds of people. I swear,” Mark interrupts, staring at him with determination. The alpha was exuding an unwavering amount of will as he spoke his promise into existence. 

“If it helps,” Donghyuck concedes, tugging the alpha closer to rest his forehead against the other’s shoulder. He takes a deep breath and inhales the comforting scent, still trying to calm himself down from the pounding of his heart and the rumbling in his brain. 

Mark, upon noticing that he had been too caught up in his anger to realize how shaken up the smaller was, reaches out to comb his fingers through the omega’s head - an action he has learned, over the past few months, that Donghyuck tended to melt under.

“How did you know to come here?”

“Jisung texted me.”

Donghyuck hums in response, sighing in content as he focuses on the warmth that the other radiated. He doesn't know how long it has been, but eventually, the omega pulls away and mutters, “I’m ready to go.”

“Okay,” Mark agrees, smiling tenderly at the younger as he intertwined their hands. “Let’s go.”

After that, Jaemok was deemed under probation by the disciplinary office. He was subjected to working in some of the offices around the school as a form of punishment and was even issued a restraining order. 

News of the attempted assault only fueled the attention that Donghyuck received. The poor boy was stuck hiding and running away from new people, still too afraid that the strangers will only want something from him. Most of the time, he was saved by his friends and NCT, but other times, he’s not so lucky. Some people though, Donghyuck assumes that they’re allies with NCT or Stray Kiz, were kind enough to be patient and slowly befriend him.

Out of all the scenarios in Donghyuck’s mind, this was possibly the best situation he could ever imagine. Never in his life did he think that he is able to walk comfortably around the campus with the knowledge that, no matter what happened to him or who approached him, he would have people to fall back to. 

He had always been wary of something happening to him, and the thing with Jaemok only confirmed his fear, but somehow, instead of the overwhelming feeling of drowning that he had come to expect, he found himself aboard a boat, riding out the rocky waves thrown at him. 

For a while, Donghyuck wondered why. Why out of all the times he had been drowning in his thoughts - why now? Why did they bring him to safety just now when all this time they could’ve done spared him the trouble? All the times he spent tormented by his past and thoughts, leaving him incapable of even doing basic things to care for himself could’ve been avoided. So what happened?

_ Mark _ , his brain answers.  _ Mark happened. _

Mark was the one that made him realize the lifeline that had been thrown at him. 

Donghyuck learns, thanks to his new therapist, that it was he, who had been stubbornly refusing to reach out and grab the help that was offered to him. He was too caught up in keeping his head above the water to see the outstretched hands promising him safety. At first, when his new therapist, a lovely omega named Yonghwa, pointed it out, Donghyuck was apprehensive. 

It wasn’t until he found himself accepting Jaemin and Renjun’s invite for the second time in a week did he realize just how far he had gotten with making friends. All of a sudden, he was laughing and screaming along with  _ Xuxi _ and  _ Lele  _ and it was somehow all too much. 

The realization comes crashing at him like a large tidal wave. The fear of losing the people that he loved and cared for was still adamant, pulsing through his brain like a mantra until he was spurred by his instincts to run away. 

Admittedly, avoiding them now was a lot harder than before. They had a relationship now, and although he wanted to leave, Donghyuck never wanted to hurt them. So instead of blatantly refusing, he chose instead to bury himself in more work and responsibilities by volunteering more and more for EXO under the guise of repaying what they have given him. 

“Hey, Hyuckie, fancy seeing you again,” Baekhyun greets, smiling at the young omega amicably before returning back to his work. Donghyuck responds with his own enthusiastic greeting and basically beelines to his makeshift desk. Thanks to Suho’s consideration and his insistence, Donghyuck was allowed a small table inside Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s private office.

Once he got settled into his tiny space, Donghyuck almost mechanically got out his laptop and logged onto one of the many (illegal) research sites he had found over the past year with the help of his friends and various internet threads. Just as he was about to lose himself even further into the world of Seoul economics, Baekhyun’s voice reverberated throughout the confined room. 

“You’ve been here an awful lot lately.”

Donghyuck pauses and looks over to the older omega. The other was watching him with piqued interest, causing the boy to carefully respond, “Is that a problem, hyung?”

“Of course not,” Baekhyun answers. “I’m just wondering what you’re running away from.”

“What-? Hyung, I- I’m not running away from anything!” Donghyuck sputters, face flushing from embarrassment at the blatant accusation.  _ Am I really that obvious? _

Baekhyun hums. “It’s been hard to keep in contact with you for the past year and suddenly you’re lurking in our office. It’s clear that you’re trying to avoid something.”

Donghyuck huffs and grumbles, “So what if I am? Shut up.”

“Does it have anything to do with Mark?”

“No,” Donghyuck bites back. “Are you gonna keep talking to me or can I go back to work?”

Baekhyun simply ignores him and continues, “That’s certainly not the case. Johnny would’ve said something by now if you guys fought. But Taeyong did ask about your health since he heard from Mark that you’ve been working a lot. Hyuck, what’s happening?”

“T-Taeyong-ssi? H-he asked how I was?” 

“Uncle Taeyong, remember? Call him Uncle Taeyong,” Baekhyun lightly reprimands. “But yes. The NCT kids are worried about your disappearance, Hyuck-ah.”

The familiar feeling of guilt washed over him.  _ No matter what I do, I hurt someone. _

“Sweetie, don’t feel bad. We’re just worried for you, okay?” Baekhyun hurriedly reassures. “Talk to me, baby. What’s going on in that head of yours?”

Donghyuck, feeling all too vulnerable and exposed, takes one look at the older’s face and breaks. “H-Hyung, I like them. I really really like their pack.”

Baekhyun was clearly confused about the exasperation in the young boy’s tone but nonetheless gestures his hands as a motion to expound more. 

“I-I really enjoy being with them, and sometimes I can’t help but….fantasize about being part of their pack and it  _ scares _ me, hyung. It  _ scares _ me,” Donghyuck rambles, vaguely aware of how close the other had gotten and the comforting scent that surrounded him. 

“What’s scaring you, love?” Baekhyun softly prods, cradling the shaking boy to his chest. 

Donghyuck clutches a fistful of the other’s shirt to ground himself and inhales deep gulps of air in an effort to calm down. Quietly, he whispers in a muffled voice, “I’m scared I might lose them too.”

He feels a hand card through his hair and almost immediately, his demeanor relaxes. The young omega is practically slumped onto the other, but Donghyuck couldn’t find it in himself to care, blissfully basking in the warm embrace. It was only when Baekhyun’s chest grumbled did he return back to reality.

“What do you mean by too?”

Donghyuck sighs and pulls away to pout at the older omega. “Hyung, you were there remember? The only family I’ve ever had was the omegas from the Lee pack, and I lost them. Can’t you see, hyung? I’m  _ cursed _ .”

“You’re not cursed,” Baekhyun quickly replies. “You deserve love - a  _ family _ . It’s not your fault that they’re dead. It’s ours.”

“What? Hyung, what are you-”

“Lee Donghyuck. I am from the EXO pack. We were the ones that stormed into that place and killed your packmates. It is a guilt that all of us carry, and we are really,  _ truly _ , sorry for not knowing more about your pack. If only we knew, we could’ve saved every one. If only we believed in the rumours then maybe you’d be with them right now.”

“Hyung,” Donghyuck gently calls out. “I’m not mad at you. It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not. Innocent lives were taken because of us and we will spend forever making up for it,” Baekhyun firmly replies. “But thank you. Thank you for trusting in us and giving us a chance.”

The vulnerable look in the older’s face lingered for a few moments before it steeled into one of determination. With a much more solid tone, Baekhyun declares, “So you don’t have to be worried anymore. No one’s going to hurt you, or your loved ones. For all the power that we have, we will make sure that nothing is ever going to take them away from you anymore. Okay?”

The amount of resolve in the older’s face and tone was surprising. In all the time that Donghyuck has known the other, he has never seen Baekhyun like this. Maybe because of that, he found it easier to believe the words being spoken to him. 

“Okay.”

Baekhyun gives him a small genuine smile. “Now, come on. Let’s eat out for a while, huh?”

-

It took Donghyuck a couple more days of talking to Baekhyun, Minhyuk, and his therapist until he deemed he was ready. Of course, that’s easier said than done.

_ Oh god. I’m actually gonna vomit, holy shit. Is it too late to run away now? _

“Oh hey, Haechan!”

_ Fuck _ .

“Hi, Ta- Uncle Taeyong!” 

“Come on, let’s go up. The kids are still out with Doyoung, Jaehyun, Johnny and Ten to finish up some chores and shopping. I swear, every day, there’s always something that the kids need to do,” Taeyong says, making his way over to the private elevator. “Sorry, it’s going to just be me and the other adults right now.”

“Oh no, it’s okay, Uncle Taeyong! It’s my fault. I came over too early. Thank you for fetching me in the entrance,” Donghyuck hurriedly explains as he mentally curses himself for thinking that coming three hours early was a good idea.  _ Damn you anxiety, why must you make a fool out of me? _

“It’s nothing! We don’t mind having you over at all! Do you want to stay over to our floor? You might run into the other guys, and it might be a bit uncomfortable for you.”

“I don’t mind anything, really,” Donghyuck sheepishly responds, still uneasy by the leader’s consideration. “But, uh, if it’s okay with you, I’d like to stay with you.”

Taeyong visibly brightens at the reply. “Of course! I’d love to have you around!”

They both share a little smile before allowing the comforting whirr of the elevator encapsulates the space around them. It wasn’t until they almost reached their floor did Taeyong’s hesitant voice break the silence.

“Uh, I was planning on cooking a late lunch for them. Do you want to, um, do you want to cook with me?”

If it were anyone else, they would’ve mistaken Taeyong for another cute omega that needed protection, but he knew better. The man in front of him was the leader of one of the most influential packs in Seoul.  _ My brain can’t compute. _

“It’s okay if you don’t want to! I was just throwing it out there, haha. You can go to Mark’s room and-” Taeyong begins to ramble, getting more nervous the longer the younger remains silent.

“I’d love that,” Donghyuck faintly interrupts. “I’m surprised you remembered, Uncle.”

“Of course I did. I’ve been looking forward to cooking with you,” Taeyong bluntly replies, not knowing how much the sentence affected the young omega. 

Donghyuck was incredibly touched so with as much effort as he can, he answered, “Me too.”

-

In all fairness, Donghyuck probably should’ve known that cooking with Taeyong  _ entails _ being with Taeyong, even with the silence. 

“Uh, Uncle? What do you want me to do?” 

Taeyong stops from digging around the cabinet for the ingredients and utensils that they were going to need and stares at him. “You can start chopping the onions. We’re going to be making some mandu.”

The smaller boy stills, eyes glazing over the various kinds of ingredients scattered on the island, hoping that one of the things will stand up and scream that it was him. Tentatively, he walks over to the table and sighs in relief when he recognizes a cabbage.  _ Okay, that’s out. Good job, Donghyuck. You can do this! _

“Haechan?”

Donghyuck’s head whips from his deep contemplation to the other’s curious gaze. “Yes, Uncle?”

“Anything wrong?”

“Well, uh, I’m sorry, but uh, which one’s the onion?” the younger shyly admits. Taeyong managed to somehow school his shock into something more understanding. 

“Here,” Taeyong says, smiling as he hands a red bulb. “Do you know how to chop them?”

Not wanting to make even more of a fool of himself, Donghyuck stiffly shakes his head and looks away, ready to receive some sort of backlash. The leader only chuckled fondly as he guided them both to the chopping board, thank god they have spare utensils, and proceeded to give a demonstration.

Determined to not disappoint the other, Donghyuck focuses on chopping the onion as finely as he can, not minding the stinging in his eyes as he does so. Taeyong felt a rush of affection at the sight of the hard-working omega in front of him and made a mental note to praise him later. 

It became a cycle from then on. Taeyong would show Donghyuck what to do and the younger would enthusiastically follow along. They hit their first obstacle when it came to folding the dumpling wrapper. 

“It’s not pretty,” Donghyuck whines, staring down at the slightly deformed dumpling in his hand.

Taeyong spares a glance from his own dumpling to look at the other's. In truth, it wasn’t as clean as his own, but Taeyong had years of practice behind him already. “It’s wonderful for your first dumpling, Haechan-ah.”

“But I want it to look like yours,” Donghyuck mutters underneath his breath, unaware of the pout that had graced his face.

The leader couldn’t help but nudge the smaller boy playfully. “It’s okay, baby. You’re already way better than Mark ever was.”

“Gee, that helps me so much, Uncle. I’m better than the guy that burns every egg he cooks,” the young omega sarcastically says, too busy with making a new, more perfect dumpling, to notice his tone. 

Taeyong barks out laughter, very amused by the boy’s slip of the tongue to care that the statement was a dig on his son. After all, he can’t deny the truth. “I can’t believe you know that.”

“Mark talks a lot,” Donghyuck absent-mindedly replies. Before Taeyong could ask more about their conversations, the younger boy proudly raises up a much better looking dumpling and excitedly declares, “Uncle, look! It’s prettier!”

Who was Taeyong to deny the boy some compliments?

“It is! You’re getting so much better at this, Haaechan. You’re a natural.”

Donghyuck beams at him so brightly that the older man had to pause for a moment, trying to memorize the beautiful face in front of him. Eventually, Donghyuck dove back into making more dumplings fully intending to perfect the food, causing Taeyong to snap back into reality.

“You want to take over making the mandu? I’ll begin on the bulgogi, and we can work together later on the japchae, okay? Sounds good?”

“Sounds good, appa!” Donghyuck cheers. 

When he realizes what he had said, the poor omega stops and stares at Taeyong’s equally shocked face. His mouth opened and jumbled up words began spilling out of his mouth. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. It just slipped out! I don’t mean it, Taeyong-ssi! Please don’t be mad.”

“I’m not mad, Haechannie. I...I actually am really flattered,” Taeyong bashfully confesses. 

“You are?” Donghyuck asks in a small voice.

Taeyong nods, swallowing his pride, and continues, “Yeah. I...well, ever since Mark brought you over, I already got a soft for you. You were the first college friend of Mark that I knew of, and I was really happy to know you. I think the feeling cemented when we went out together, as a family.”

“O-Oh,” was all the younger boy could say. He could feel his heart hammering in his chest as his brain desperately tries to make sense of the situation.  _ What the fuck? What the fuck is happening right now? This isn’t what’s supposed to happen _ .

“At this point, I consider you as one of my sons so if you want to call me appa, I’d absolutely be honoured.”

_ What do I do? What do I do? How do I respond?  _

In his panic, Donghyuck’s brain manages to blurt out, “Donghyuck.”

“What?”

“If...If you’re allowing me to call you, a-appa, th-then y-you can call me Donghyuck.”

“Okay,” Taeyong breathes out. “It’s a deal.”

“I-I’ll just get on with the mandu then,” Donghyuck says after the silence stretches for too long, and clumsily fumbles with the other wrappers. As he was trying to will the flush away from his face, he felt a feather-light kiss press unto his temple. 

“Don’t worry, I won’t pressure you, okay? For now, let’s focus on making food for the others, alright?”

“O-Okay,” Donghyuck answers. 

“Good. Now hurry up with the mandu, we still have some food left to make.”

“I’ll make the prettiest batch of mandu you’ve ever seen.”

“And I’ll tell everyone I made it,” Taeyong teases. Donghyuck took this as permission to be as playful, so he dramatically replies, “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Welcome to the real world, son.”

“The real world sucks,” Donghyuck mumbles. A beat passes and then they both are chuckling happily over their theatrics. After the two omegas have calmed down, they resume cooking. The silence this time was welcomed. Donghyuck had even found himself quietly mumbling along to a very familiar song.

Taeyong recognizes the song as the one Mark had been obsessed with for a whole solid month. He remembers asking his son what the song was. At the time, all he received was a bright smile and a flustered response. “It’s I Like The Way You Love Me by Michael Jackson, Appa.”

Choosing to keep his squeal inside, Taeyong only hums along. His voice was not nearly as good as the younger’s, but the pleasantly surprised expression in Donghyuck’s face was worth it. The two omegas continued on stumbling along with the English lyrics, sometimes making up their own words, as they finished up on their own tasks.

As the mandu began steaming and the bulgogi was set aside for cooling, both of them easily set the noodles to be cooked. It wasn’t hard though. Donghyuck was lowkey disappointed at how fast the noodles were cooked, thinking that his little moment with Taeyong was done. His frown was quickly replaced however, when the older revealed that they had to sauté some other vegetables.

When the stove came to life, fire crackling in response,Taeyong calmly showed the younger a fancy bottle.

“This is olive oil. It probably costs a lot more than normal, but I really like the way it looks. And besides, I don’t spend a lot on stuff, so I’m allowed to splurge once in a while. Jaehyun can suck it,” Taeyong amusedly explains, pouring a generous amount of oil on the pan. The hiss as the oil meets the heat was incredibly loud.

Donghyuck flinched at the sound, suddenly remembering the sensation of hot oil searing into his skin. The echoing laughter of the disgusting alphas and betas rang throughout while he reminisced the way his body convulsed in pain.  _ It’s not gonna happen. No one’s going to throw it at you. It’s okay. _

“Hey,” Taeyong’s soft voice called out to him, pulling the younger out of his little spiral. “Are you scared of the oil?”

“A-A bit,” Donghyuck stutters, desperately trying to will his quickened heartbeat to calm the fuck down.

“It’s okay. The heat is set in low, but if you’re scared, I can take care of sautéeing. You can go check up on the mandu, yeah?”

“I-I want to help.”

Taeyong warmly smiles at him. “Well, you can begin cleaning up? Yeah? Is that okay?”

“O-Of course,” Donghyuck quickly replies. When the Taeyong turns his attention back to the pan before him, the young omega quickly moves around and grabs the dirty dishes, carefully depositing them into the large sink. Once everything was collected, Donghyuck easily located the dish soap and the sponge and got to work.

A more comfortable silence once again settled around the room. Donghyuck was too busy scrubbing away on the dirtied dishes that he missed Taeyong’s fidgeting stance. The leader had been itching to question the younger ever since it was revealed that the boy was an omega. It has been months since then, and despite the progress that Donghyuck seemed to be achieving, Taeyong knows all too well that it’s not easy to move on. 

“Donghyuck?” the older omega eventually tries.

To say that Donghyuck was startled by the name that fell out of the other’s lips was an understatement.  _ Duh, you asked him to call you that. _

“Yes, Appa?” 

“How,” Taeyong hesitates. “How are you?”

“I’m okay.”

“No, uh, how  _ are  _ you?” Taeyong emphasizes the serious tone and expression on his face was enough for Donghyuck to comprehend the severity of his question. “I don’t know what has been going on, but how are you doing?”

Donghyuck gulps. Something about the other halted his ability to pretend. No amount of quips or jokes could tear the truth away from his mouth. “I’m...I’m learning.”

“Learning?”

Flustered by having to admit it, the small boy muttered, “Mark said something about me being busy, right?”

“Yeah. He and the kids are worried about you overworking yourself.”

“I’m fine,” Donghyuck grumbles defensively, before catching himself and taking a breath. “I’m okay. Admittedly, I...I was avoiding something but I’m trying to fix it.”

“You were avoiding us, yes?” Taeyong bluntly asked, maintaining his composure even when the other nearly dropped a slippery plate. Thankfully, Donghyuck fumbled long enough to retain his grip back before the plate broke. 

“I, um, I - Well, yes.”

“May I know the reason?” the older politely asked, carefully eyeing the other as he readied himself to halt the conversation in case that it crossed the line.

“Y-Yeah. I-I’ll tell you,” Donghyuck stumbles, focusing on the suds that clung unto his hands while he gathered his thoughts. “Well- um, l-long story short. I- uh, please don’t tell this to anyone else.” 

“I won’t. I promise,” Taeyong answers, sincerely pledging his silence to the other.

“Okay, okay,” Donghyuck mumbles more to himself in an effort to hype himself up. “Uh, in summary, I don’t want to lose you guys too.”

“Too?”

The small boy hastily nods. “Y-Yeah. A-After the massacre, there were a, a bunch of us omegas left.”

Donghyuck’s hands started fidgeting, picking at his skin until he felt the small tingle of pain shoot through his nerves. He was going to say it. He was going to speak the names out to the world. “It was me, Jaehwa noona, Jihyun noona, and Minjun - we were all left of our little makeshift family.”

“They sound lovely,” Taeyong interjects in hopes of providing some sort of bluff between the younger and the inevitable crash of his emotions.

“They were,” Donghyuck softly agrees, eyes glazing with bittersweet emotion. “Just as we were about to leave with Suho hyung, one of the betas survived and took them out. I-I was the only one that survived.”

In a much quieter voice, he adds, “I’m scared that I will lose you guys too.”

Out of every scenario or possibility that Taeyong had thought of, this was certainly not what he expected. The leader had speculated that Donghyuck’s change in behaviour had to do something with being overwhelmed with the influx of alphas and betas in his life, but this - this was more than he thought.

“I’m so sorry, baby. I’m so sorry,” Taeyong murmurs, hurriedly turning off the stove and gathering the boy in his arms. Donghyuck didn’t fight the contact, simply allowing himself to revel in the warmth of the other’s comfort.

_ Look at you _ , his brain couldn’t help but comment.  _ You’re comfortable with hugging them now. You came so far. _

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Taeyong whispers, his breath fanning the top of the young boy’s hair. “But we’re not going anywhere, okay? I will do anything to protect the pack, and that includes you.”

“I know. Baekhyun hyung also promised the same thing,” Donghyuck awkwardly laughs, choosing to ignore the final statement for the sake of his poor sanity.

“I’m taking it that Baekhyun was the one to convince you to talk to us?”

Donghyuck shyly nods. “Y-Yeah. I-I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, honey. There’s nothing to be sorry for. It’s hard to run away from the ghosts of our past,” Taeyong reassures. “How have you been finding it so far?”

“W-Well, some days it’s easy to be Haechan. It’s easy to laugh and be a normal college student. Sometimes, when days are really good, I might get the courage to hug Mark,” Donghyuck rambles. He vaguely registers how open he’s being around Taeyong, but he decides not to question it.  _ Maybe he reminds you of Jihyun noona. _

“B-But other days, even nearing other alphas and betas send me into a mild state of panic. Sometimes, I wake up all sweaty and scared because when I sleep, memories of what happened plague my mind. I-I can’t even partner with other alphas in class because I’m still so  _ scared _ . I-I don’t know if i-it will ever go away.”

“There, there, baby,” Taeyong coos, petting the boy’s head for comfort. “It’s okay. I can’t tell you when it goes away. It might take years, much longer than we think it will be. But it’s okay. For now, you’re learning to trust a few people. And you’re doing so well.”

Tears pricked at the corner of Donghyuck’s eyes. It had been such a tough journey and the validation from someone other than his feeble attempts at motivating himself was much more needed than he thought. 

“Thank you,” he says, his voice muffled by Taeyong's shirt. “Thank you so much, Appa.”

Taeyong couldn’t help but drop a light kiss on the crown of the boy’s head. The leader mentally promised himself to keep the omega in his arms as much love as he is allowed to give. “I love you, son.”

They stay like that for a while. Each of them was simply content with basking at the warmth and comfort that the other provided. Eventually, Taeyong had to remind them of the reality that they had to face. 

“Come on, let’s finish up this meal, shall we?” Taeyong suggested as he pulled away. Before he could fully remove himself from the other, Taeyong looks at him with a cheeky grin. “If we finish earlier, we can dip into the chocolate I have stored.”

“Chocolate? What’s chocolate?” 

“You don’t know what chocolate is?” Taeyong practically shrieks. Donghyuck slightly grimaced, but nonetheless watched the other in amusement. 

“Am I supposed to know?”

“It’s only the most amazing thing in the world!”

“I feel like I heard someone say that before.”

“Hush, if it wasn’t me saying it then it doesn’t mean anything,” Taeyong dismisses and makes his way back to the pan. “Now let’s hurry. If Jaehyun comes home and sees us snacking, he will literally gobble everything.”

Donghyuck chuckles amicably. “Okay, okay, we don’t want that to happen now, do we?”

“You learn well, Hyuckie.”

“Learned from the best.”

They finish up relatively quickly after that. The japchae didn’t take much time to make, so once the mandu was deemed ready, they practically had everything set. All that was left to do was to set the rice to cook so that by the time the others got back, it would be warm. With the older’s help and Donghyuck’s work, the dishes got cleaned faster than expected.

Once Taeyong wiped the final pot dry and transferred it to the dish rack, he happily turned to Donghyuck and declared, “Finally! Let’s go! I hid the jar of chocolate in my gaming room!”

“Gaming room?” Donghyuck repeats incredulously. 

“Yeah! I like playing computer games and stuff so when we were designing the floor I  _ had _ to include a room for myself,” Taeyong explains, dragging the young boy out of the room and into the hallway. “Don’t worry though, it’s only on this floor! It’ll be fine!”

Donghyuck remains quiet as he follows along the other’s path. He was more than happy listening to the older go on about a room that he clearly is passionate about. 

“I don’t always have time to indulge in many hobbies since I’m either busy with work, taking care of the pack, or resting, so I really  _ really  _ love this room. Sometimes when I manage to snag the time, I would lock myself for god knows how long and get lost in a lot of different games.”

Taeyong only paused in his rant when they reached a door. “It’s not a really big room. Just like three computers and a rainbow keyboard.  _ Yes _ , I know. I’m one of  _ those _ people. But it’s nice, okay! The rest of the room is just filled with some figurines and plushies.”

“You have plushies?” 

The leader flushes red and desperately tries to maintain an authoritative demeanor. Unfortunately for him, when he spoke, his voice came out meeker than he intended. “Yes, so?”

The chuckle that Donghyuck lets out is one filled with adoration. “It’s okay, Uncle. Nana likes plushies too.”

“That’s because Nana has taste,” Taeyong says and twists the doorknob. As the door swings open, he proudly exclaims, “So this is it! It’s not much but I love it.”

_ Not much, my ass _ , Donghyuck thinks as his eyes scan over the room. It wasn't as big as the other rooms he had been to, but it was still pretty spacious. If he needed to estimate, it was probably just over half of his unit.  _ Tsk, rich people. _

The left side was filled with Taeyong’s gaming setups. True to his word, there were only three computers on top of a desk and a matching gaming keyboard. If Donghyuck squinted further, he was sure he could see the faint colour of the rainbow. The young omega could tell how much time the other spent cooped up in that particular space when he spotted a full-sized fridge right beside the desk. 

On the middle was an average-sized couch and a widescreen TV mounted to the wall. Below it was a drawer filled with various consoles and games.  _ I swear this is just as much as the ones in the common room.  _

The right side, on the other hand, seemed to be a lounging area. There was a small couch filled with various plushies, a swivel chair, a desk, a cabinet stocked to the brim with different figurines, and another computer setup that was surrounded by some equipment that Donghyuck couldn’t recognize.

“What’s that?” the smaller omega asked.

Taeyong followed his line of sight and answered, “Oh, those are some stuff for making music.”

“You make music?” Donghyuck reiterates, not being able to keep the awe out of his tone.

The leader smiles sheepishly. “Kinda? It’s just a hobby of mine. Mark also likes messing around with it so we sometimes make things together.”

“Mark?”

“Yeah,” Taeyong nods. “Our family loves music so we all kinda dabble in composing and stuff. Out of the three of us though, Mark’s the most passionate one though. He plays the guitar too.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that,” Donghyuck says.

“He doesn’t really play outside of his room. Mark gets very shy when it comes to playing for other people. The others only got to hear him because they grew up together,” Taeyong explains. “Don’t worry about not knowing. Since he practically loves you, Mark’s probably too flustered to even bring it up.”

Taeyong, not noticing how much his statement affected the younger, moves over to the right side and makes a beeline to the cabinet full of figurines. “I hid the chocolate behind the figurine of Howl’s Castle ‘cause Jaehyun  _ knows _ how precious these things are to me. He would never touch it.”

Unfortunately, the words that the other said simply passed by Donghyuck’s head. He doesn’t even realize he’s whispering, “Mark loves me?”, until Taeyong stands up from his crouching position, a jar in his hands, and acknowledges the statement.

“Yes? I thought he told you?”

“M-Mark just told me he l-likes me,” Donghyuck says. With a much softer voice of disbelief, he mutters to himself, “I thought it’d go away eventually.”

Taeyong had the decency to look ashamed. “Shit. Uh, don’t tell him I told you that. I’m sorry.”

“I-I won’t.”

A beat of awkward silence passes them until Taeyong stutters out, “Do you, uh, want some chocolate?”

“S-Sure,” Donghyuck agrees, walking over to sit beside Taeyong who had already taken refuge on the small couch. The older omega excitedly drops a piece of chocolate on the other’s outstretched hands. 

“Some of the adults went to Belgium and we found this  _ amazing _ chocolate place so we bought a lot. Jaehyun finished his by the first two weeks after the trip so now he’s been trying to sneak some from my stock. I hope you like it,” Taeyong rambles, watching the other’s expression intently as Donghyuck placed the piece in his mouth.

“Oh my god, this is good!” Donghyuck enthusiastically proclaims, eyes fluttering shut as he savoured the taste. “This is really  _ really  _ good, wow.”

“Right!” Taeyong happily agrees. “You can have some more if you want! I’m indulging myself today, hehe.”

Donghyuck stares at him wide-eyed. “But isn’t this your stock? Wouldn’t you want to save a bit?”

“It’s fine. I can always order from abroad.”

“Then why doesn’t Uncle Jaehyun do that?”

“Because he’s a meanie and wants to get mine,” Taeyong pouts, eliciting a short laugh from the younger boy. “You’re nice so I’m willing to share this with you.”

“Gee, I’m flattered,” Donghyuck croons. When Taeyong drops another piece of chocolate on his hand, he accepts it gratefully. They quietly munch on the chocolate, the conversation between the two of them coming and going as they simply enjoy each other’s company.

Eventually, Taeyong’s phone buzzes.

“Hello? Oh, you don’t have to buy anything. I cooked something. It’s a surprise. Don’t worry you’ll love it. Don’t mind it, love. It’s delicious. Okay, bye. I love you.”

When Taeyong hangs up, he turns to Donghyuck and says, “That was Jaehyun. They’re coming back now.”

“Aw shucks,” Donghyuck sadly states. “It’s gonna be chaotic.”

The leader smiles at him sweetly. “You’re right. The peace will be gone.”

“Peace was never an option,” the younger one mutters, quoting one of Felix’s favourite catchphrases.

Taeyong chuckles softly. It was nice to hear the younger speak like a kid. “One last piece before we go.”

Donghyuck eagerly nods and practically nibbles on his piece in an effort to stall the inevitable. The older laughs fondly at the sight, reaching out to ruffle the boy’s head to express his amusement.

“You know what? Hyuckie, why don’t we surprise them when they get here? You’ll hide! I’ll say that I prepared something really special for them and when I bring out the food, they’re going to be disappointed ‘cause it’s common food. They’re going to try to be nice about it but then you come out!”

“That sounds fun, Appa! Can we do that?” the young omega replies, matching the other’s excited demeanor. 

“Of course! Now come on! You can hide out in the pantry when I gather them in the kitchen!”

-

Despite agreeing quickly and being giddy over their plan, Donghyuck was anxiously pacing around the, rather big, pantry. He can hear the others from outside the door, the cheerful voices of his friends mixed with the tired complaints of the older men. The only sound grounding him right now was Taeyong’s voice rising among the wave of noises, calmly commanding everyone to settle down just as the others were done transferring the various groceries back to their respective floors.

“If you guys calm down, we can actually begin eating.”

“Kids quiet down. I really want to eat,” a voice that sounds like Jaehyun hurries to reprimand. 

“You were the loud one, Papa.”

“Hush, Mark. Not now.”

“Uncle Taeyong! Can we wait for a bit? Donghyuck hyung is coming over in a while,” a high pitched voice resounded as he recognized Chenle.  _ Oh my god, I love him _ .

Taeyong had to stifle the smile that threatened to overtake his face as he said, “I’d love to, sweetie, but how about I show you guys my surprise? I was really proud of my cooking, you know?”

“Okay, Uncle.” 

“Come on kids, the quicker we eat and clean, the better it’d be for Donghyuck right?” 

“You’re right appa,” Donghyuck hears Jeno say.  _ Must be Uncle Doyoung _ .

“Anyways,” Taeyong declares, catching everyone’s attention with a loud clap of his hands. “So are you guys excited for my surprise?”

“Of course we are, baby.”

“Ugh, papa please don’t be disgusting right now!”

“Okay, okay, Mark. Now quiet down. Let’s hear what Taeyong has to say, okay?”

“Whipped,” someone from the room says.

“Alright. One, two, three, hurrah!” Taeyong exclaims, completely ignoring the comment as he, Donghyuck presumes, presents his “surprise”. 

There was silence in the room for a while until a nervous chuckle erupts in the atmosphere. “It’, uh, nice Taeyong-ah. Thank you for cooking for us.”

“Thank you Johnny,” Taeyong replies sickeningly sweet. “Oh! I forgot something in the pantry! Hold on for a minute.”

Before anyone could reply, the leader’s footsteps could be heard nearing the pantry. When Taeyong’s figure appears in Donghyuck’s line of sight, the boy breaks out in a shaky smile.

“You ready, Haechannie?”

“I am! I hope no one gets mad.”

“Oh sweetie, I think they’d be far from angry,” Taeyong reassures, smiling at him comfortingly.

“Alright, Uncle, I trust you,” Donghyuck mumbles, eyeing the door of the pantry warily.

“Thank you,” the older omega speaks with such a genuine expression that it took a while for the other to realize what he had said. “Let’s go, then?”

Donghyuck didn’t verbally respond, instead, he stepped closer to the taller man as a silent indication to move forward. Taeyong understood and wordlessly turned around and opened the door. 

“Here’s my last surprise!”

The young omega takes that as his cue for his entrance. Awkwardly, he shuffled outside and stood beside Taeyong’s beaming demeanor. “S-Surprise?”

“Hyung!” Chenle exclaims, quickly running over to him and tacking the boy into a hug. “You’re here!”

Donghyuck chuckles warmly and happily returns the embrace. “I am.”

“Hot damn, Haechannie, you’re really something else,” another person says, lightly slapping the omega on the back. When Donghyuck turned his head to see who it was, he was met with Jaemin’s bright face. 

“Hello to you too, Nana.”

“How did you get to the pantry?” Jaemin asked once Chenle finally pulled away from the other.

“I, uh, got here a bit earlier,” Donghyuck sheepishly admits.

“Yeah, he helped me in cooking,” Taeyong chimes in. At his statement, Mark stares at him a bit flabbergasted.

“You mean Appa allowed you to mess around the kitchen? Alone? With him?”

“Mark, don’t be so dramatic. It’s only you who I don’t allow alone in the kitchen. Even with me,” Taeyong explains. Everyone chuckles at the statement, with Ten even chiming in, “That’s true Markiepoo. The amount of times Taeyong has called me over just to watch over you is a lot.”

“Hyung,” Mark whines. “Stop making me look so dumb,  _ please _ .”

“You already told Haechannie almost everything already. I don’t think there’s anything anyone else can say to make you look less dumb,” Renjun, who was near Lucas, intercepts.

“I hate all of you,” Mark mutters, still pouting as Taeyong ushers a few members of the pack to gather the plates of food to move it into the dining room, which was apparently somewhere in the middle of the floor between Ten and Johnny’s, and Jaehyung, Taeyong, and Mark’s side. 

“It’s okay,” Donghyuck says as he sidles up beside the sulking alpha. “If it helps, I think you’re the second smartest person among them.”

“Why not the smartest?”

“Are you serious? Renjun is basically an evil genius in disguise. No one is smarter than him,” the omega quickly replies. Mark laughs joyfully at the other’s words, causing Donghyuck to smile proudly in response.

“That’s fair,” Mark says. “Come on, we better catch up to them. Appa and Uncle Doyoung want everyone to be together when it comes to eating.”

“I don’t doubt that.”

Despite the consequences, the two boys take their time walking. They were trailing behind the group, but no one seemed to mind. 

“Where’s the terrible trio?” Donghyuck asks, wanting to start a conversation in place of the quietness between them.

“You mean Yangyang, Hendery, and Xiaojun?”

The omega hums in response. Mark takes this as a sign of agreement and answers, “Where else could they be? They’re out on a date.”

“They always seem to go out on dates. Why does it seem like they’re the only couple around here that actually seems to be in love,” Donghyuck huffs out short laughter.

Mark shrugs. “I mean, they can only go out on dates outside school.”

“What? Why?”

“It’s not exactly common for three people to be in a relationship, you know? Even more so having three of them as soulmates.”

“Wait,” Donghyuck halts in his steps, prompting Mark to do the same. “People don’t know they’re dating?”

“No.”

“But they’re literally so obvious? Like, what? Yangyang is not really shy about his affection, and yeah maybe Hendery is shyer with showing his feelings, he gets really soft around him and Xiaojun. And Xiaojun! He literally just goes along with what Yangyang does!” the smaller boy lists off, not being able to wrap his head around the ignorance of their schoolmates.

“You’re right, you’re right,” Mark acknowledges. “But it’s alright. They don’t mind. I once talked to Xiaojun about it but he said that they don’t really care since all they need is each other.”

“That’s badass of them,” Donghyuck murmurs awestruck as he and Mark begin to move forward. When silence once again blanketed the two, it was Mark, this time, that spoke up.

“You came here early.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. I didn’t realize the time, I just went here,” Donghyuck says, feigning indifference as he tries to be as subtle as he nervously waits for the other’s reaction. 

“It’s okay. I don’t mind! I was just hoping that you were alright? None of us were he and I just thought,” Mark trails, unsure of what to say since he was a bit afraid of how his concern could be misinterpreted. 

“In all honesty, I was hella nervous,” the younger one admitted. “But Uncle Taeyong was...comfortable? We went out before and he was very nice about it so I was fine, Mark. Don’t worry.”

Mark smiles at him a bit triumphantly. “I’m glad. Appa adores you.”

Donghyuck flushes at the statement and clears his throat before mumbling with a meek voice, “I adore him too.”

Just as the alpha opens his mouth, the two are stopping in front of the dining-room door. At first, Mark was lowkey annoyed at being interrupted but his logical side took over and thanked his lucky stars for the situation. He was about to spill something incredibly cheesy, and he knows for sure that the other wasn’t comfortable yet with his admissions. For now, his romantic confessions could only be revealed in his trusting black notebook.

Faintly, Mark worries about how much longer it will take before he breaks and releases the onslaught of emotions he had been hiding. 

“Let’s go,” the alpha coughs, bringing himself back into reality. Together, they walked inside the room and were greeted with a sight that could only be described as organized chaos. 

Lucas was talking about something excitedly to Chenle, Jisung, and Renjun. From the looks of it, it was probably a story between the tall, goofy alpha and the pouting beta given that Jisung and Chenle were sporting shit-eating grins while Renjun’s face was torn between an annoyed glare and an affectionate gaze. 

Doyoung seemed to be lightly reprimanding Jeno about some things while Johnny and Jaemin stared in amusement as they made quips among each other, sometimes laughing in between their comments. Not too far from them, Ten looks to be smothering Taeyong with affection while Jaehyun whines behind them, tugging gently on the Thai boy’s shirt in protest. 

Donghyuck giggled contentedly at the scene before him.  _ I’d love to get used to this _ .

His floaty tune seemed to reach the leader’s ears as the man’s pursed up face shifted into one of delight. 

“Channie!”

Though the call of his name momentarily stopped everyone from their conversations, it was only short-lived. Soon enough, loud voices were once again bouncing around the room. Taeyong, however, broke free from Ten’s grasp and urged the two boys over to him.

When Donghyuck and Mark settled between Taeyong and Jaehyun, the leader commanded everyone’s attention. “Everyone.”

It was almost like magic the way one simple word silenced the chaos within the room. Donghyuck couldn’t stop the shiver from rushing through his spine at the thought of being in the older omega’s shoes.  _ I can’t even stand it when Mark stares at me for too long, how the hell can Uncle Taeyong handle everyone’s stare? _

“Before we dig in, I would like to share with you guys something,” Taeyong says and spares a glance over at Donghyuck. 

_ Oh, _ the boy realizes, body filling with embarrassment as he tries to shrink further back.  _ Oh god, Appa, why are you like this? _

“The food we’re going to be eating today was made by me and Haechan,” Taeyong nonetheless states, chest slightly puffing in pride. “He specifically made the mandu.”

Mumbles of awe and praise left some people’s mouths. Donghyuck didn’t bother to see who was talking, instead choosing to fiddle with the front of his shirt. He could already feel the tips of his ears burning.  _ Damn, I probably look like a tomato. _

“Haechan-ah! Let’s cook some time together!” Jaemin’s voice pierced through the murmurs of the group. “Judging by the looks of the mandu, I can tell you’re way better than anyone else. Do you know how much Jeno just whines to me to make food?”

Jeno’s protest gets drowned out by Renjun’s accusation, “You just want to split the cooking responsibility with Haechan.”

“So? You guys are all  _ leeches _ ,” Jaemin defends. “Except for you Jisung. I’d cook for you anytime.”

“But I’m supposed to be your favourite!” Jeno exclaims, mildly offended. To which, Jaemin merely pinches his cheek and coos, “I’m sorry sweetie. No one can replace Jisung.”

“What about me, hyung? I’m Jisung’s soulmate. Shouldn’t I get a free pass?” Chenle grins mischievously. “If you want me to take care of Jisung, you should.”

Renjun scoffs, “Yeah right. You’re absolutely whipped for him even without Nana’s cooking.”

“Like you’re any better,” Chenle retorts. Before Renjun could launch himself towards the omega, Lucas encased the smaller boy into his arms, grinning like a lovesick fool.

“You’re so cute, sweetie.”

“Kids, not now. Let’s eat, okay?” Taeyong intervenes, effectively stopping the boys from dissolving into another fight. Without another word, the man reaches out for some of the japchae and delicately places a small portion on Donghyuck’s plate.

“Thank you,” Donghyuck says, earning him a small smile from the other. 

Taeyong’s actions were an indication to the others that it was time to actually eat. Doyoung began fussing over Jaemin and Jeno, placing a rather large amount of rice and bulgogi in their plates, while Johnny and Ten, in lieu of Kun, focused their attention on Jisung and Chenle. 

Donghyuck, still uncomfortable at getting some food while others were still eating, only quietly munched on the japchae in his plate. Taeyong and Mark were aware of the omega’s habit that they took it upon themselves to place a few pieces of mandu and bulgogi on his plate. The small boy was surprised at the gesture.  _ Is this what it’s like to be cared for? _

“The mandu is really good,” Mark tells him. 

Donghyuck looks over at the alpha and teases, “I think based on how many you got, I can tell.”

Mark though, doesn’t get flustered. Instead, he just smiles at him happily and answers, “What can I say? You’re really good.”

“Are you okay?” Mark asked when Donghyuck started choking on a piece of bulgogi.  _ Curse Mark and your smooth tendencies. _

“Yeah, yeah, sorry, just went into the wrong pipe,” Donghyuck coughs out, trying to dismiss the worried expressions in Taeyong, Mark, and even Ten’s face.

“I’ll get you some water, hold on,” Mark replies, not waiting for a response as he stands up to go to the kitchen for a glass of water. 

After a few moments, Donghyuck manages to calm down. Once Taeyong was sure that he was okay, the young omega was left on his own devices, trying to will himself back to normal. 

Distinctly, he remembers Taeyong’s words.  _ Does he actually love me? _

“Hey, I’m back,” Mark greets before handing him a glass of water. “Here, drink up.”

“Thank you,” Donghyuck answers, accepting the cup with a grateful smile.  _ Is this love?  _

“It’s nothing. Can’t have you dying on me, now can I?” the alpha easily replies. 

“Why? Gonna miss me?” 

Mark hesitated for a moment. Donghyuck could practically see the moment the other decided to throw away his reservations and answered, “More than you can ever know.”

_ Oh. _

Donghyuck’s heart stopped. He couldn’t seem to move his eyes away from the older’s gaze, drowning himself in the chocolate swirls. It seems that they may have been staring at each other for a while because Jaehyun’s voice chimes in. 

“If you two don’t stop, I’m gonna eat all of your food.”

Frankly, Donghyuck didn’t mind having his food taken away from him, but Mark did. The alpha immediately snaps away from their little staring contest and glares at his father, and growled a soft, “Don’t you dare, Papa.”

“You better get to eating then, baby.” 

Mark huffs and shoves one mandu into his mouth. Despite his showcase of annoyance, the red hue that dusted over the alpha’s cheeks told Donghyuck a different story. As if he needed another sign of reassurance, Mark turns to him and shyly smiles. 

“Let’s talk later, okay?”

Normally, that sentence would’ve sent Donghyuck spiraling into a mess of questions and anxiety, but the look on the alpha’s face was enough to assure him it was going to be okay. Belatedly, he realizes something. 

_ It doesn’t matter if Mark loves me or not.  _

“Yeah. That’d be great.”

_ I love him, and that’s okay. _ Donghyuck’s stare lingers for a bit longer.  _ I’ll just love him as much as I can. _

  
  


Once everyone was finished with their meal, (Donghyuck was proud to say that it only took around forty-five minutes more for them to wait this time) Jisung, Chenle, Lucas, and Jeno were assigned to be on dishwashing duty. The adults excused themselves out of the room, allowing the kids their time alone. 

Just as Renjun and Jaemin neared Donghyuck, Mark announced, “Uh, I’ll talk to Haechan alone for a while. We won’t be long.”

Donghyuck could only look at his friends’ dumbfounded expression as Mark pulled him outside and into another room. It was a rather small space, the smallest room he probably has seen among all the floors. 

Upon seeing the omega’s scanning eyes, Mark explains, “This is kinda like my study room.” 

_ Ah, that makes sense _ , Donghyuck thinks, nodding to himself. There was only a desk, a swivel chair, a small cabinet, and a drawer. If it weren’t for the textbooks and school supplies strewn around the room, he would’ve thought that it was just another sad, boring office space.

“Do you actually study here?”

“Hey!” Mark proclaims affronted. “I  _ do _ study here. It’s really boring here though. The only good thing about this place is that it’s near the dining room. The moment I sniff the little remnants of food through the crack, I just come running.”

Donghyuck laughs, “It’s cute that you say that. Nana has told me about your tendencies.”

“What tendencies?”

“You overwork yourself a lot.”

“They’re just exaggerating,” Mark sheepishly denies. “But enough of that, I wanted to talk.”

“What did you want to talk about?” Donghyuck concedes.

“Well,” the alpha stops. “I kinda, hm, I’ve been meaning to tell you something but, uh, I wasn’t sure? If it was going to be okay?”

The smaller of the two couldn’t help but giggle at the other’s flustered demeanor. “Go on.”

“I - okay, so basically everyone knows about it already, but y-you don’t. Maybe you do? It’s pretty obvious but-”

“Mark, you’re rambling.”

Mark flushes even more and stutters, “O-Oh okay, s-sorry about that. R-Renjun has told me to just say it, b-but this is a lot harder than I thought.”

“Hey,” Donghyuck gently calls out, carefully reaching out for the other’s hand. When Mark accepts the gesture by intertwining their hands together, he continues, “It’s okay. It’s just me.”

“That’s the thing, Hyuck-ah. It  _ is _ you,” the alpha groans. “It’s always been you, Hyuck-ah.”

“H-Huh?”

Mark looks at him seriously and offers, “I’m going to confess to you right now, okay? I’m going to admit to you everything I’ve felt since the moment we met because deep down I’m a romantic at heart and I just want to wax poetic about you. If you’re not ready to hear, just tell me. We can walk back to the dining room and enjoy everyone’s presence.”

_ Oh my god,  _ his brain chants as his heart thunders, threatening to break away from the confines of his ribcage. Without even realizing it, he had breathed out, “It’s okay.”

“Are you sure?” the other worriedly pursues. 

“Yes.”

While Mark looks for any more signs of discomfort, Donghyuck mentally hypes himself up.  _ This is fine. This is perfectly fine. It’s not like you just realized you’re in love with him until a few moments ago. But then again, it isn’t surprising. Mark has always been- _

“Okay,” Mark announces, stopping the omega’s internal monologue. The expression on the older’s face was new to him. It looked to be a mix of determination and affection, he wasn’t sure. “This is gonna be really long and cheesy, so buckle up.”

“Hm, uh, let’s start in the beginning then, shall we?”

Mark lets out a deep breath, hoping to dispel some nerves before he continues. “When I first met to talk to you about my soulmate, it didn’t even cross my mind that you could be the one. I was too busy and excited about having a soulmate that I didn’t stop and see  _ just _ how beautiful you were. I thank god every day that I was assigned with you in the same stat class.”

“Even though I probably didn’t learn much about stat, in the end, the time spent in that room was what I looked forward to every week. At first, I didn’t know why but when I thought that maybe,  _ maybe  _ I liked you...it scared me. The only way I could cope was to live in denial. I liked having you around and I even reasoned with myself that since I know of my soulmate, there was no way I would like you.”

The alpha bittersweetly smiles. “How foolish was I to think that?”

“Donghyuck,” Mark pauses, daring to lock eyes with the younger. “I truly did not know why I thought I could resist falling in love with you when you’re just so...you. You’re beautiful, charming, and so,  _ so,  _ bright. Whenever I started mentally breaking down because of academics, expectations, hell even, when I was torn between you or my soulmate, I just...one look at your face and the world just seems to fade away.”

“I get drawn in by your smile, your laugh, your...your everything, and suddenly I’m renewed with motivation to go on. Donghyuck, I know you sometimes think that you’re a burden to me, that I’m just here for you because of the universe locking me with you, but the truth is, you ground me. You remind me of everything good and pure in this world, and that both excites and soothes me.”

Mark sighs, trying to catch his breath from ranting for too long. “What I’m trying to tell you is, I love you Donghyuck. With my whole heart and soul.”

The omega didn’t even register the tears that had begun falling down his face until he felt Mark let go of his hand and cup his cheeks, thumbs rubbing away the wetness of his face. 

“I’m sorry, Donghyuck.”

“No,” the younger softly mutters. “Don’t be. I’m-I’m just so happy.”

“H-Happy?” Mark repeats, refusing to let hope fester and grow. The vulnerable look on the alpha’s face reminded Donghyuck that even though he had the courage to say everything, he was still a boy. Alpha or not, Mark was just another person putting himself out there.  _ It’s my time to reassure him _ .

“Mark, I love you too.”

Still not being able to believe in the words, Mark, with his last brain cells, stumbles, “You don’t have to be pressured to love me back.”

With an exasperated sigh, Donghyuck retorts, “I know that, dumbass.”

“When I found out you were my soulmate I did my absolute best to avoid you guys. Seriously, I learned about your pack and where you guys stay just so I know which place is safe to stay.”

“What are you trying to say?” Mark pouts.

“I’m  _ saying _ that no matter what I did, I was bound to know you and fall in love with you. When I found out you were in my stat class, I literally cursed the universe. Even more so when I got stuck with you and Nana as my group mates. At first, I only talked to you guys because I was forced to, but damn it, Mark, you just snuck your way into my heart.”

“I’m not good with words, and this is probably the worst confession in the history of the entire world, but I’m gonna try,” Donghyuck admits. 

“I’ve lived my life with the sole purpose of surviving - of making it through just another day. I’m damaged as fuck, and there are so many things wrong with me, but you make me want to be better. You make me want to actually  _ live _ .”

“Hyuck,” Mark exhales. 

“I know. It’s strange and very dumb. At first, I blamed the universe and thought that it was because of the whole soulmate thing that made me so weak around you. But it wasn’t. I’ve read about these things only in books and fairytales, so to me, it was always something so far away - so out of reach. But I felt it with you.”

“I don’t know much about love, but I’m sure that I love you.”

As soon as Donghyuck finished his last sentence, Mark pulled him into a hug. With the new position, he could hear the other’s quickened heartbeat.

The alpha’s voice softly comes out muffled, “Holy shit. Is this real? I can’t believe this is real.”

Donghyuck bursts out in laughter, purely out of happiness. “Me too. This seems so surreal.”

“I was afraid, you know? I felt so much for you, but I didn’t know if you wanted to know,” Mark says. Donghyuck could feel the boy slightly shake from his fear.

“You worry too much,” Donghyuck replies. “But that’s fair. I know I’m too fucked up, and it sucks. I don’t know why you put up with me.”

“You’re not too fucked up,” Mark reassures. “You’re fucked up. There’s a difference.”

“What’s that?”

“You’re flawed. Not a whole mess, Hyuck-ah.”

That sentence shouldn’t’ve hit Donghyuck as much as it did, but it did. Never in his time out of the Lee pack did he think that he was flawed. He always thought that he was nothing but a broken, hurt boy that couldn’t do anything but fuck everything up. His mindset has gotten a bit better from those days, but it was still there. 

_ Flawed _ , he thinks.  _ It’s almost like I’m normal. _

“I’m flawed too, Hyuckie.”

“I know,” Donghyuck says, thinking back to the past few months wherein he had learned more personal things about the other than he had thought. “But I still love you as you are.”

“And I, you,” Mark replies. “I love everything about you, and I will do my best to show you that for as long as you have me.”

“Forever is a long time, you know?” the omega answers, but the other merely smiles.

“It’s not when I’m with you.”

“Oh my god, you’re so cheesy,” Donghyuck whines, gingerly punching at the alpha’s chest as he tries to hide how affected he was by the statement. 

“Hey, you accepted my confession, now you gotta live with the consequences.”

“Is it too late to take it back?”

“Yep! You’re stuck with me now!” Mark cheerily quips. The retort of the younger boy dies from his tongue as he feels the alpha practically vibrate with happiness.  _ You can have this one for now. _

Donghyuck allows himself to bask in the moment of peace. The negativity and anxiety that always clutched his senses took a seat in the back. This was real. He loved Mark, and Mark loved him back.  _ Nevermind your doubts for now.  _

“Hey,” Mark quietly calls out. “We have forever to love each other, right?”

“Right.”

“Can I start now?”

Donghyuck pulls away enough to stare at the other boy in the eye. Confusion knitted in his eyebrows as he asks, “What?”

“Can I kiss you?”

If Donghyuck thought he was flustered before, this was a whole new level. He had never kissed another person like that before. Kisses to him were always forced - a tool to dominate his weak self until he is gasping for air and on the brink of tears. One would think that after being used to make out sessions, he wouldn’t be blushing like a schoolboy. 

But this was Mark. Mark wasn’t those alphas and betas that wanted him for his body. He actually wanted him as the person that he was.

Thank god, his brain was nothing but quick-witted. “Yes.”

Mark smiles tenderly and rests a hand on top of the omega’s cheek, delicately tracing Donghyuck’s skin. As slowly as possible, to give the younger boy enough time to change his mind, the alpha nears the younger’s face until it happens. 

Donghyuck couldn’t help but melt into the contact. Mark kissed him like he was something precious. The older took his time exploring his lips, reveling in the feeling of Donghyuck’s lips on his, accentuated only by Mark’s happy sighs. 

The smaller boy’s mind was buzzing. He had never been kissed like this. It was much tamer and nicer than what he was used to, but it affected him even more than anyone else has. Much too soon for his liking, Mark pulls away. 

They stare at each other, pupils dilated to the max as each of them desperately try to catch their breaths. 

“Wow,” Donghyuck exhales. 

“Wow,” Mark repeats. “We should, uh, we should probably go back.”

“Yeah, who knows what could happen.”

Stiffly, the two of them begin to move towards the door. Before they could get near the exit however, Mark remembers something and screams, “Wait!”

“Why? What’s wrong?” Donghyuck worriedly asked, hands fluttering around the other in concern. 

“I forgot to ask! God, I’m so dumb,” Mark says. “Does, uh, does this mean you’re my boyfriend?”

“O-Oh, I-If you want us to be,” the omega stutters out after a beat.

“I-I want us to be, but I-I don’t want to force you.”

“N-No! I-I want to!” Donghyuck exclaims, voice shrill and frantic, scared that Mark might mistake his words as a rejection.

“O-Okay then! W-We’re boyfriends then,” Mark proclaims, voice softening timidly in the end of his sentence. 

“O-Okay,” Donghyuck reiterates. The awkward atmosphere enveloped them as they stood around, unsure of what to do next. Thankfully Mark took the initiative and tentatively reached for the other’s hand. 

Donghyuck eagerly responded by hurrying the process and intertwining their hands together. He refused to look over the alpha however, not wanting to face the other in fear of getting too overwhelmed. 

“Let’s go then,” Mark says. 

Donghyuck nods along in agreement. In a brief moment of bravery, he quickly presses a peck in the corner of the alpha’s lips. Mark was stunned, body freezing in surprise as he tried to process what had just happened. 

“Is that okay?” Donghyuck asked, anxiously biting his lip.  _ Did I go too far? _

“Of, Of course! I was surprised is all,” Mark responds. “In fact, I, uh, I kind of like it.”

“That’s nice,” the younger one replies. “I like it too.”

Mark beams at him, not so subtly tugging the boy closer. “Now for real this time. We have to go.”

“Okay, okay,” Donghyuck laughs giddily. “We stalled long enough.”

As they were walking back to the dining room, Donghyuck, for the first time in a while, felt content. He had a family - a network of loved ones that he would do anything for. It had been leaps and bounds from what he could ever imagine what his life would be. 

Maybe the universe wasn’t so bad. Maybe the world wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be. Maybe, just maybe, he could be happy. 

_ I hope you’re proud, Minjun-ah _ .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That ends our story! 
> 
> I cannot thank you guys enough for reading this story. At first, I only wrote this down because it has been in the back of my mind. Never did I think that people would be reading it, haha. So thank you once again. 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed reading, and as always, constructive criticism is always appreciated <3


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